The Golf Watch

Thoughts from the NCAA Championship at Caves Valley

I've been to some great tournaments on all different stages--the PGA Tour, LPGA, Champions, etc.  But I have to say that the NCAA Women's Championships at Caves Valley last week was one of the most enjoyable events I have ever attended. 

Watching Amanda Blumenherst and Maria Hernandez for 18 holes on Thursday and walking with the Arizona State team for their practice round and final round was a delight.  Here are a few notes and observations I had about the tournament.

* The NCAA women golfers work hard.  I mean...really hard.  Typically, after a round on the PGA Tour, there are only a handful of players who choose to hit balls on the range.  At Caves Valley, entire teams were out on the range hitting.  Some of this might have to do with age, but these girls carried their own bags for 18 holes and were still able to muster up the strength to fine tune their games for the next day.

* Speaking of carrying their own bags, Caves Valley is one of the toughest treks in the game.  It was obvious from the players' body language that they were tiring by hole 15 each day.  Some players opted for a pull cart, but, with or without one, I was impressed by the energy and determination of the players.

* The NCAA should do a better job of marketing both their Men's and Women's tournaments.  For a venue that held tens of thousands of fans seven years earlier for the US Senior Open, it was disappointing to see less than 75 people standing around the 18th green when the final putt dropped. 

Arizona State grabs team championship, Hernandez wins individual title

The favorites heading into the week didn't disappoint.  The Sun Devils finished eight strokes ahead of UCLA to secure the championship title.

 

Senior Tiffany Joh and an emotional UCLA squad huddle around the 18th green.  They finished in solo second.

Amanda Blumenherst's final putt on the 9th green...

Teammates embrace an emotional Blumenherst.  She'll go down as one of the greatest female collegiate golfers of all time. She finished four strokes shy of Purdue's Maria Hernandez, who will most likely win Player of the Year. 

Expect a wrap-up post later this weekend with thoughts on the tournament.  Until then, have a meaningful Memorial Day weekend. 

Collegiate careers almost over, walking 18 holes with Amanda Blumenherst and Maria Hernandez

Duke's Amanda Blumenherst is the reigning US Women's Amateur Champ.  She is a senior and a three-time National Player of the Year.  She led her team to two NCAA titles.

Purdue's Maria Hernandez is a three-time Big Ten Player of the Year.  She has the same number of career wins as Blumenherst at 12.  She's a front runner for this year's National Player of the Year and she is a senior as well.

When I glanced at the tee times for Thursday's third round at the NCAA DI Women's Golf Championships at Caves Valley in Baltimore, I noticed that Blumenherst and Hernandez were grouped together.  What better way to spend my day than walking 18 holes with these two amateurs - both on the brink of turning professional and with promising careers ahead of them.  And they didn't disappoint.  

Blumenherst and Hernandez put on a ball striking clinic.  They were playing from the fairway all day.  I only saw one truly wayward shot from each player--Hernandez's tee shot off of the par-3 8th and Blumenherst's second shot on the par-4 11th. 

Each player struggled with their speed on the greens though.  Blumenherst in particular had at least four putts that were headed straight for the center of the cup, but stopped an inch too short.  The putting woes continued when Blumenherst four-putted her final hole of the day, the par-4 9th. This moved her from fifth place overall into a tie for eighth.  As for Hernandez, her even-par 72 has her two strokes back of the lead in second.

There were only about eight fans following the marquee group of the day--and that included Blumenherst's parents, who anxiously cheered on their daughter.  And that's what made this experience so unique. 

When Blumenherst and Hernandez are playing on the big stage at a US Women's Open one day, I'll look back on this day with fond memories.

A tough week ahead for the NCAA women at Caves Calley

I spent some time earlier today at Caves Valley Golf Club in Baltimore for the NCAA DI Women's Golf Championships.  I followed Arizona State, the favorite this week, for a practice round, and they looked sharp.  But after taking a good look at the course and how a number of the teams were playing some of the holes--I think this is going to be one long week. 

There are only four birdie holes on the entire course--the 2nd, 10th, 14th and 17th.  Depending on the wind factor, two of the par 4s (the 9th and 11th) might not even be reachable for some of the players.  And don't forget that Caves is one of the toughest courses in the game to walk (remember the complaints from the 2002 US Senior Open?)

Judging by the body language of some of the players coming off of the course and the setup, don't expect too many players to go low.  Below are some pictures I took of the course (I will be on site all day Thursday and for the end of play Friday). 

Here's the ASU team, ranked No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking, on the tricky downhill par-3 8th. 

 

The Oklahoma State team on the short par-4 2nd.  The water rarely comes into play.  It will be one of the few birdie holes all week.

11--Arguably the toughest hole on the course.  They moved the tees up for the women--making it a 402-yard par-4.  It's a pretty straightforward tee shot.  However, it's the second shot to an elevated green that will be difficult for some of the women to reach in two.  I think it would have been smarter to move the tees farther back and make it a par-5.

 

Amanda Blumenherst and the Duke squad on the par-4 18th hole.  You might recognize it from the Tom Watson and Don Pooley epic playoff.  This team has underachieved for most of the year.  This could be their moment to shine. 

Giuliani sues Duke...no, the other one

Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, was booted off of the Duke University men's golf team this past winter, and now the family is fighting back.

I just read the article on ESPN.com, but found a better report on Newsday's website.  Ellis Henican of the aforementioned publication writes:

Andrew Giuliani has hit a rough patch in his drive to become a pro golfer - being tossed off the Duke University golf team, his lawyers say, over "unfounded accusations" and a coach's "bizarre Lord of the Flies scheme."

But New York City's former first son is swinging back hard.

Late yesterday, his attorneys filed a federal lawsuit in North Carolina, contending the university has violated its obligations to him as a student-athlete and demanding he be invited back to Duke's state-of-the-art golf-training facility.

The drama in Durham never ends...

Lovemark and others struggling to break par at NCAA Championship

Many avid golf fans are surprised not to see Jamie Lovemark's name on the front page of the leaderboard at the NCAA Championship.  In fact, Lovemark isn't even on the top half.  The defending NCAA champ is 16-over after day three, and trails Kevin Chappell of UCLA by 22 strokes.  Lovemark, a sophomore at USC, made the cut at the Buick Invitational earlier this year, and was 1-over after three rounds.  A lot has to be said about the difficulty of the course, which has been playing 6-7-over-par for the week.