April 26, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Purdue women's golf team has built a comfortable lead at the Big Ten Championships and are leading by 18 strokes with one round to play. Even more impressive is the fact that the Boilermakers hold the top four individual spots heading into round four at the Blue Course at Penn State in University Park, Pa.
The Boilermakers fired a 286 on Saturday and have a three round total of 872 (298-288-286) to lead second-place Michigan State (890), third-place Ohio State (903), fourth-place Indiana (908). Wisconsin and Michigan are tied in fifth place, each with a team total of 910.
Purdue has gotten stellar performances from its top-four golfers as Maria Hernandez, Christel Boeljon, Maude-Aimee Leblanc and Junthima Gulyanamitta hold the top four individual spots at the tournament. Hernandez has moved into first place after carding a 66 in the third round. It is the second time in her career that Hernandez has fired a 66, tying her again with teammate Junthima Gulyanamitta for the second lowest round in school history. Hernandez has a four-under par 212 through three rounds and is the only golfer with a sub-par score. Boeljon is in second place after firing a 75 on Sunday. She sits at two-under par at 218.
LeBlanc, a freshman, carded a 73 in the third round, recording a four-under par 220 and is alone in third place. Gulyanamitta, also a freshman, is tied for fourth with Michigan State's Laura Kueny with a total score of 222. Gulyanamitta recorded an even-par 72 on Sunday to move up to fourth.
Purdue's Stephanie Oukeo is in 35th after firing a 79 on Sunday for a three-round total of 233 and junior Carolyn Mess has carded a 79 in all three rounds and with a total score of 237 is 46th.
If the Boilermakers are able to hold on to win the 2008 Big Ten Women's Golf Championships, it will be their third. Purdue won in 2000 and most recently in 2006.
Play resumes tomorrow morning for the fourth and final round. Live scoring is available at golfstat.com and the recap and final results can be found at purduesports.com.