April 7, 2008
CARMEL, Ind. - The sixth-ranked Purdue women's golf team has established a comfortable lead after two rounds at the 2008 Indiana Invitational at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind. The Boilermakers hold a 29 stroke advantage over second-place UNLV (299-291=590), recording a 279 in the first round and a 282 in the second for a 15-below par total of 561.
Purdue had some stellar performances on Monday and has four golfers in the top five, including freshman Junthima Gulyanamitta who is in first place with a nine-under par 135. The native of Thailand fired a five-under 67 in the first round and a 68 in the second.
"In the two tournaments that Junthima has played well, it makes our team so much stronger," head coach Devon Brouse said. "She was impressive today, finishing nine-under par with no bogeys."
Junior Maria Hernandez, Purdue's top-ranked individual with a No. 8 ranking by Golfweek, is in second place with a three-under par 142 (72-69). Junior Christel Boeljon fired a 71 in both rounds on Monday and is tied for third with UNLV's Therese Koelbaek at 142 (-2). Freshman Maude-Aimee Leblanc opened up with a three-under par 69, carded a 74 in the second round and is in fifth place with a one-under 143.
Junior Carolyn Mess is tied for 61st, opening with a 77 in the morning round, followed by an 84 in the afternoon.
"It's a great golf course," said Brouse. "With today's ideal weather conditions and with the course under renovation, it shortened the course up, which we took advantage of. I am happy with our position and hope that we can play well tomorrow to finish things out. We just want to continue to improve between now and the Big Ten Championship."
Crooked Stick is playing as a par-72, 7,272-yard course, with some minor construction going on in preparation for hosting the 2009 U.S. Senior Open.
Ohio State is in third, recording a 595, Illinois is in fourth with a two-round total of 600, while the host team, Indiana is tied for fifth place with Texas at 602.
The third and final round begins tomorrow at 9 a.m. with a shotgun start. Fans can follow the action with live scoring at golfstat.com. Final results will be posted at purduesports.com.