May 21, 2009
Round Three Results 
// Round Four Tee Times/Pairings // Round Three Photo Gallery
OWINGS MILLS, Md. - The ninth-ranked Purdue women's golf team is tied for 11th with a three-day total of 918 (+54) going into the fourth and final round at the 2009 NCAA Women's Golf Championships in Owings Mills, Md. The Boilermakers shot a 311 (+23) on Thursday, their worst round of the tournament, but senior Maria Hernandez is in contention for the individual title.
"I'm excited about Maria," head coach Devon Brouse said. "She played an excellent round of golf and is really playing well this week. You've got to be excited about her chances tomorrow because she's going to be two shots out of the lead. Maria's the kind of player that can go out and get this done tomorrow. We're happy for her opportunity and what it would mean for her and for the program to have an NCAA individual champion. It would be awesome."
Conditions have been ideal at the par-72, 6,443-yard Caves Valley Golf Course in Owings Mills, Md. For the third day in a row there was not a cloud in the sky and winds were calm. No. 3 Southern California took advantage of the mild conditions to move into first place, recording a 294 on Thursday for a three-round total of 890 (+26). Top-ranked Arizona State made the largest jump on the day, moving into second place behind a 291, the lowest team round so far in the tournament. The Sun Devils trail USC by one stroke with a team total of 891 and are two strokes ahead of third-place and No. 3-ranked UCLA. The Bruins fired a 304 in the third round and have a three-round total of 893.
Hernandez, a leading candidate for national player of the year, is tied for second place after shooting even par for the second straight round. The Pamplona, Spain, native is even with UCLA's Maria Jose Uribe with a score of 218 (74-72-72, +2) and trails individual leader Jennifer Song from Southern California by two strokes. Hernandez had birdies on holes 3, 7 and 14 on Thursday, but a bogey on 14 and a double-bogey on No. 6 gave her a final score of 72.
Sophomores Thea Hoffmeister and Junthima Gulyanamitta carded 78s on Thursday. Hoffmeister is tied for 47th with a three-round score of 230 (76, 76, 78, +14) and Gulyanamitta is tied for 74th at 234 (80, 76, 78, +18).
Maude-Aimee Leblanc, who tied for first at Big Ten Championships and finished fourth in the NCAA Central Regional, continues to struggle at Caves Valley. The sophomore from Sherbrooke, Quebec, shot an 11-over par 83 in the third round and is tied for 87th with a score of 236 (76, 77, 83, +20). LeBlanc tied for 15th at last year's NCAA Championships and will look to improve this year's standing in the final round.
Freshman Vaishavi Sinha recorded an 85 in the third round and is tied for 124th with a total of 256.
"There's not a lot to be said at this point," Brouse said. "It's a matter of getting the job done. We'll go give it another shot tomorrow and see what happens."
The Boilermakers will tee off from hole No. 10 beginning at 12:10 p.m. ET on Friday and will be paired with Alabama and LSU.
Live video from holes 16, 17 and 18 during the fourth round can be viewed at the link on the women's golf page on NCAA.com or by clicking on the live video link on the Purdue women's golf schedule. Coverage on Friday is from 11 to 2 p.m. ET and again from 3 to 6:30 p.m. (or until play concludes).
The awards ceremony at the conclusion of play will recognize the top-four teams and the top-15 individuals. Last season, Purdue finished fourth and had two players, Christel Boeljon and LeBlanc, finish in the top 15.
Live scoring of the fourth and final round of the NCAA Championships can be found on Golfstat.com and a recap of Friday's results will be posted to purduesports.com.