Duke Leads, but Boiling Point Approaches

Purdue moves into second at NCAA championship

May 25, 2007

By Ryan Powell

Special to CSTV.com

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Sophomore Christel Boeljon and the Purdue Boilermakers added some intrigue to the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships on Thursday. The Boilermakers moved into second place after posting the day's best round and stand only eight strokes behind top-ranked Duke with 18 holes left to play on the LPGA International's Legends Course.

 

It is still the Blue Devils' championship to lose, though, as the 24-team field once again played through high wind-gusts that reached upwards of 30 miles-per-hour on Thursday. The two-time defending champions actually extended their overall lead by a stroke after recording a team score of 293 (+5) to give them a three-day total of 880 (+16).


 

 

 

For the third day in a row, a different Blue Devil took charge as Jennie Lee joined teammate Anna Grzebien by leading Duke with level-par rounds of 72. Sophomore Amanda Blumenherst, the top-ranked player in women's collegiate golf, used five birdies to overcome a triple-bogey and a double-bogey in her round to post a 74 (+2).

 

It was Lee's steady play that helped keep the Blue Devils in front of the pack. The Henderson, Nev., native came to the 17th hole at one-over par, but stuck a three-wood to within eight feet of the pin on a hole that was playing the second hardest on the course.

 

Lee made the eight-footer and that stroke coupled with a Blumenherst birdie on the same hole in the group behind built Duke's lead back to a respectable eight shots after the Boilermakers had cut the deficit to five strokes late in the round.

 

"My hope is that Jennie Lee is paying attention to what she just did in this 30-mile-per-hour wind because I think she is a little concerned that she doesn't put it out there as far as some players," Duke Head Coach Dan Brooks said. "You know, to shoot even-par in these kind of conditions just shows that you can play in anything and do well. She has a good attitude. She has a lot of game. She has a really, really solid swing and has all the parts. She just tends to rise to the occasion."

 

As impressive as the even-par rounds posted by Lee and Grzebien were, it was Boeljon who remained the hottest golfer on the course. She was the catalyst once again for Purdue after posting her second-consecutive 69 (-3) to build her lead in the individual standings to five strokes. Boeljon was joined under par by teammate Stefanie Endstrasser, who fired a 71 (-1), as the Boilermakers registered a 291 (+3) as high wind gusts once again took their toll on Par 72, 6,371-yard layout.

 

"It was a big lift for our team to get Christel to go out there and birdie three of the last four yesterday and she just had a nice back nine again today for I think the same score of 69," Purdue Head Coach Devon Brouse said. "When you a get a golf course that is playing this demanding and you get one player that gets it rolling out there it makes a big difference in your team score."

 

A native of the Netherlands, Boeljon made six birdies on her round and leads the tournament with 15 through three rounds of play. "Today, I played really solid again," Boeljon said. "I hit a lot of fairways and greens. I made some bogeys, but on this course you have to expect them. I trusted my game well enough that I would make some birdies and that's what I'm doing."

 

UCLA dropped to third after starting the day seven strokes behind the Blue Devils. The Bruins turned in a score of 299 and will enter the final round 13 strokes off (893, +29) the pace set by Duke. Third-ranked Georgia moved up to fourth after carding a 300 in round three, while Vanderbilt and Stanford are tied for fifth with three-day totals of 903 (+39).

 

Boeljon is joined by one player in red figures on the individual leaderboard. USC's Paola Moreno has a three-round total of 215 (-1) thanks to a 70 (-2) in her third round. Arkansas senior Stacy Lewis posted a 74 (+2) in her third round, but only dropped one spot to third in the race for medalist honors. Lewis, who is among six individuals competing in the field, is at even-par (216) for the tournament. Blumenherst and TCU's Catherine Matranga are tied for fourth with one-over par totals of 217.

 

Duke will enter the final round looking to become just the second team in NCAA History to win three-consecutive Division I women's golf championships. If the Blue Devils can hold off the pesky Boilermakers and the remainder of the field they will join Arizona State in achieving that feat. The Sun Devils registered the three-peat from 1993-95.