VERONA, Wis. - Purdue junior Covadonga SanJuan shot an opening-round, one-under 71 and is tied for 13th place after 18 holes at the NCAA Madison Regional at University Ridge Golf Course. The Boilermakers shot 10-over par, 298, as a team and sit tied for 12th place after the first round, making 10 birdies Monday.
SanJuan came out smooth and steady Monday, making three straight pars, a birdie on No. 13, and three more pars to sit one-under after seven holes. After giving a stroke back on No. 17 and finishing the back nine at even par, she added birdies on No. 2 and No. 4, dropping to two under and climbing as high as fourth place on the individual leaderboard. Bogeys on No. 5 and No. 8 evened out the Boilermakers' scorecard, but she bounced back on her final hole with a birdie on the par-5 ninth to secure her fifth consecutive round of par or better, dating to the final round of the Lady Boilermaker Classic on April 15.
Purdue senior Marta Martin also turned in a solid day, shooting even par, 72, with a pair of birdies Monday and is inside the individual top 20, tied for 19th. She made eight straight pars to open the round, and managed to recover from a bogey on No. 18 with a birdie on No. 2 to even her card. Another bogey fell on the 198-yard, par-3 fifth hole, but like SanJuan she dropped a birdie on No. 9 to close the round in strong fashion.
Junior Ida Ayu Indira Melati Putri and freshman Inez Wanamarta struggled, but accounted for the other two Purdue team scores Monday. Putri finished five-over par, 77, while Wanamarta shot six-over par, 78.
Eighth-seeded Virginia has a hold of the team lead after 18 holes, shooting nine-under par, 279, to open the regional. The Cavaliers have a four-shot lead on top-seeded Duke, while No. 2 seed USC is third at three-under par. Virginia's Beth Lillie and Wisconsin's Gabby Curtis are tied for the individual lead at five-under par.
Purdue resumes play tomorrow at 9:54 a.m. ET, paired with Notre Dame and Idaho, and starting play on the back nine for the second straight day.