Two-time reigning Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke,
No. 5 in the first Golfstat rankings
I’ve seen this fall, fired a solid 3-under-par 285 in Sunday’s final round to
repeat as the champion of The Landfall Tradition at the Country Club of
Landfall’s Dye Course in Wilmington, N.C.
Last year’s Landfall was shortened to two rounds by rain.
This year’s Landfall saw a suspension of Friday’s opening round. The completion
of Round 1 and Round 2 were played in chilly, raw conditions Saturday, although
I’ll bet it was a little warmer than it was at Stonewall’s North Course for the
second round of the Fall Scramble. Not much warmer, but a little.
It was tough conditions on a tough golf course, the
6,166-yard, par-72 Dye Course at the Country Club of Landfall which had also
taken a bit of a hit from Hurricane Florence. It was the kind of weekend that
can reveal toughness and when it comes to women’s college golf, Duke is right
up there when it comes to toughing it out.
The Blue Devils, led by individual co-champions, Virginia
Elena Carta, a senior from Italy, and Gina Kim, a freshman from Chapel Hill,
N.C., had taken the lead with an opening round of 9-over 297. They fell back
into fourth with a second straight 297 before posting one of just two under-par
team rounds for the weekend in Sunday’s final round for a 15-over 879 total.
No. 17 South Carolina snuck past its Southeast Conference
rival Arkansas to take second at 17-over 881, two shots behind Duke and one
ahead of the No. 8 Razorbacks after a final round of 2-over 290. Reigning SEC
champion Arkansas, which had surged into the lead on the strength of the other
under-par round of the weekend, a 3-under 285 in the second round, finished up
with a 9-over 297 for an 18-over 882 total.
It was another 10 shots back to Duke’s ACC rival Virginia,
which is No. 2 in the Golfstat rankings,
in fourth place. The Cavaliers had a final round of 11-over 299 for a 28-over
892 total.
Michigan seemed to outplay its No. 70 ranking as the
Wolverines finished fifth at 32-over 896 after a final round of 297. Another
ACC entry, No. 14 Wake Forest, was two shots behind Michigan in sixth at
34-over 898 after the Demon Deacons closed with a 5-over 293.
No. 56 Maryland out of the Big 10 finished seventh at
40-over 904 after the Terrapins posted a final-round 305. Their Big 10 rival
Penn State, ranked 39th, had an encouraging eighth-place finish, a
shot behind Maryland at 41-over 905 after a final-round 304. The Nittany Lions
completed their opening-round 300 Saturday morning before posting a 301 in the
second round later in the day.
Former Radnor standout Brynn Walker and No. 37 North
Carolina shared ninth place with ACC rival North Carolina State, ranked 53rd,
at 42-over 906. Walker, a two-time PIAA Class AAA champion at Radnor, had a
career-best, 4-under 68 in the second round – looks like it was the low
individual round of the tournament – to spark the Tar Heels to a 298 team total
and they finished up with a 301. The Wolfpack had a final-round 306.
No. 59 Notre Dame finished 17th in the loaded
18-team field with a 931 total after a final-round 310.
Carta, who captured the NCAA individual title as a freshman
in the spring of 2016, was the picture of consistency in the cold-weather-wear
fashion show with three straight even-par 72s for an even-par 216 total.
Her teammate Kim, one of the top recruits in the country
last year, fired a final round of 3-under 69 to catch her teammate and share
the top spot.
Miranda Wang, a redshirt sophomore from China, backed up her
teammates by finishing among the group tied for 15th at 222 after
carding a 1-over 73 in the final round. Jaravee Boonchant, a sophomore from
Thailand, struggled through two rounds, but came up big in the final round with
a 1-under 71 to join the group tied for 24th at 225.
Ana Belac, a junior from Slovenia, has had a strong fall,
but had a tough weekend, finishing in a tie for 58th at 232 after a
final-round 77.
Competing as an individual for Duke was 2015 U.S. Women’s
Amateur champion Hannah O’Sullivan, a sophomore from Chandler, Ariz.
O’Sullivan’s game is nowhere near the level it once was and she finished tied
for 90th at 248 after a final-round 82. Not sure if O’Sullivan can
get back to the top 10 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), but
there’s certainly a pretty good college player in there somewhere.
Arkansas’ Dylan Kim, a senior from Waco, Texas, and Kaylee
Benton, a senior from Buckeye, Ariz., shared third place, a shot behind Carta
and Gina Kim at 1-over 217. Dylan Kim sandwiched a 1 -under 71 with a pair of
1-over 73s while Benton, who reached the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur
at the Golf Club of Tennessee last summer, broke 70 with her 3-under 69 in the
second round before finishing up with a 1-over 73.
Absent for Arkansas was reigning Annika Award winner Maria
Fassi, a senior from Mexico who is participating in the LPGA’s Q-Series at the
Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, N.C. The Q-Series is a new layer of the LPGA
Qualifying School that I haven’t quite figured out yet. Wake Forest was also
without Jennifer Kupcho, a senior from Westminster, Colo. who is the reigning
NCAA individual champion and No. 1 in the Women’s WAGR, for the same reason.
South Carolina had three players finish in the top 10, led
by Lois Kaye Go, a junior from the Philippines who ended up alone in fifth at
2-over 218 after posting a pair of 1-under 71s in her final two rounds.
Two other Gamecocks, Emily Price, a freshman from England,
and Marion Veysseyre, a senior from France, were among four players who
finished tied for sixth at 3-over 219. Price had a final round of 2-under 70
while Veysseyre followed up a 2-under 70 in the second round with a final-round
76.
Also in the group tied for sixth at 219 were Maryland’s
Virunpat Olankitkunchai, a sophomore from Thailand, and Oklahoma State’s
Stephanie Astrup, a sophomore from Denmark. Olankitkunchai had the individual
lead after rounds of 71 and 70 before backing off with a final-round 78. Astrup
matched par in the final round with a 72.
Rounding out the top 10 was North Carolina’s top player
Kelly Whaley, a senior from Farmington, Conn. who matched par in the final
round with a 72 to finish alone in 10th at 4-over 220.
Walker, a junior, had continued what has been a disappointing
fall with an opening-round 81. But the real Brynn Walker suddenly appeared in
the second round, the one who is completely capable of making seven birdies,
including four straight from Nos. 10 through 13, for the first sub-70 round of
her college career. Believe me, Walker is much closer to the player who shot 68
than she is to the one who shot 81.
Walker finished up with a 4-over 76 to end up among the
group tied for 24th at 225. Not her best, but certainly an
encouraging finish to take into the winter break in the season.
Jennifer Zhou, a freshman from China, finished in the group
tied for 53rd at 231 after a final-round 77 and Mariana Ocano, a
junior from St. Petersburg, Fla., ended up in the group tied for 58th
at 232 after a final-round 76.
Rounding out the lineup for North Carolina was Nicole Lu, a
freshman from Taiwan who has played some nice golf this fall, but struggled at
The Landfall, finishing among the group tied for 86th at 241 after a
final-round 80. Ava Bergner, a sophomore from Germany who was last fall’s
freshman phenom for the Tar Heels, competed as an individual and finished among
the group tied for 73rd at 235 after a final-round 79. A 2-over 74
in the second round hinted that Bergner might be finding her way back to the
player she was a year ago.
Penn State’s leading lady, as she has been throughout the
fall for the Nittany Lions, was senior Cara Basso, the former Villa Maria
Academy standout and winner of the Women’s Golf Association of Philadelphia
Match-Play Championship each of the last two summers. Basso opened with a
1-under 71 before falling back with rounds of 74 and 78 that left her in the
group tied for 18th at 7-over 223.
Sarah Willis, a freshman from Eaton, Ohio, finished in the
group tied for 24th at 225 after a final round of 3-over 75. She was
joined at figure by teammate Lauren Waller, a senior who was a scholastic
standout at Canon-McMillan.
Waller had three straight 3-over 75s. That also put her in a
tie with Walker, to whom she lost in a playoff for the 2014 PIAA Class AAA
individual crown.
Senior Jackie Rogowicz, a two-time District One champion at
Pennsbury, finished among the group tied for 58th at 232 after a
final-round 76. Rounding out the Penn State lineup was junior Megan McLean, a
Voorhees High product who finished among the group tied for 84th at
238 after a final-round 78.
Notre Dame has played some solid golf this fall, but struggled
at The Landfall. The Irish’s leader, Emma Albrecht, a senior from Ormond Beach,
Fla., finished in the group tied for 48th at 230 after adding a pair
of 77s to her opening-round 76.
Abby Heck, a sophomore from Memphis, Tenn., finished in the
group tied for 66th at 233 after a final-round 78.
Senior Isabella DiLisio, the 2013 PIAA Class AAA champion as
a senior at Mount St. Joseph’s, and Mia Ayer, a junior from Waco, Texas, both
landed among the group tied for 68th at 234. After opening with an
80, DiLisio carded a pair of 77s while Ayer finished up with a 78.
Rounding out the Notre Dame lineup was Claire Albrecht, a
freshman from Ormond Beach, Fla. and Emma Albrecht’s younger sister. Claire
Albrecht finished alone in 93rd at 255 after a final-round 86. Like
I said, tough conditions, tough golf course. Tough times make for tough
golfers.
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