WGCA Release / Hernandez LPGA Bio
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue women's golf great Maria Hernandez will receive a tremendous honor next month as the Women's Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) announced her induction into the Players Hall of Fame, set for Sunday, Dec. 11, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Along with Lorena Ochoa of Arizona and Virada Nirapathpongporn of Duke, the class becomes the 67th, 68th and 69th members of the WGCA Players Hall of Fame.
Hernandez became the first Boilermaker to win the NCAA Women's Golf Individual title, topping the national field in 2009, at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland. She shot one-over par, 289, including a final-round, one-under, 71, to earn the title and lead the Boilermakers to a 10th-place team showing.
Hernandez went on to earn the 2009 Honda Sports Award, awarded annually to the nation's top women's golfer, 2009 National Golf Coaches Association (NGCA) Player of the Year honors and her third career NGCA All-America award. She was also a three-time GolfWeek All-American, the 2009 Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year, a two-time Big Ten Champion, three-time Big Ten Player of the Year and three-time Mary Fossum Award winner, given to the Big Ten's low season strokes average.