March 14, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The fourth-ranked Purdue women's golf team finished in 14th place at the Tiger/Wave Golf Classic in New Orleans, La., on Sunday. The Boilermakers recorded their best round of the event with a 296 on the final day, but it was not enough to make up for a 327 in the second round coupled with an opening score of 303 for a three-round total of 926.
Auburn's solid back nine in the final round led the No. 2 Tigers to the 2010 Tiger/Wave Golf Classic team title on Sunday afternoon at English Turn Golf and Country Club. LSU's Megan McChrystal birdied No. 18 to claim the individual title.
Auburn shot an even-par 288 in the final round to defeat second-place TCU by seven strokes. The Tigers posted a combined 27-over par in the three-round tournament co-hosted by Tulane and LSU.
Purdue junior Thea Hoffmeister turned in the best performance for the Boilermakers at English Turn. The Berlin, Germany, native finished tied for 20th after carding a 73 on Sunday to give her a three-round total of 225 (74-78-73, +9).
Freshman Laura Gonzalez Escallon finished with a 75 in the final round for a three-round total of 227. She tied for 24th place and was the only Purdue golfer to record an even-par or better score, carding a 72 in the first round.
Numa Gulyanamitta struggled in the first two rounds, carding 80s on both days, but rebounded nicely with a 73 on Sunday. The native of Thailand tied for 55th with a score of 233. Sophomore Kisha Sinha also saved her best round for last, recording a 76 in the final round for a total of 242 and a tie for 97th.
The Boilermakers' highest ranked individual, Maude-Aimee LeBlanc carded a 75 after being disqualified in round two. LeBlanc opened the Tiger/Wave Classic with an 80.
Freshman Paula Reto was the highest finishing Boilermaker, but was playing as an individual so her scores did not count toward the team total. Reto finished tied for 12th with a three-round score of 223 (75-79-69, +7). The Cape Town, South Africa, native fired a personal-best 69 on Sunday for her highest finish of the season.
The best individual round of the day came from Georgia's Emilie Berger. She posted a six-under par 66 to slide into the top 10. Berger's round was the best individual performance of the tournament.
Wake Forest's score of five-under par in the third round was the best round of a team of the tournament. The Demon Deacons' finished in ninth place.
The average score on the third round was 75.57, over five strokes better than the 80.74 average in Saturday's second round. The opening round average was 78.04.
Purdue resumes tournament play at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic held March 26 to 28 in Athens, Ga.