May 20, 2010
The No. 24-ranked Texas A&M women's golf team shook off a scheduling snafu to shoot a record-setting two-under par 286 and charge into the top 10 at the NCAA Championships on Thursday at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C.
The Aggies had to take the course at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday to finish Wednesday's second round that was halted due to darkness. Upon completion of their second round, the Aggies were scheduled to have an hour break before the start of the third round. A scheduling mixup had the Aggies teeing off just 45 minutes later and robbing them of any warm up time. The loose Aggies took the challenge in stride and carded the lowest postseason round in school history.
“We were literally running from the parking lot to the tee box,” Aggie golf coach Trelle McCombs laughed. “It could have been a very distracting situation, but the girls had a great time with it and were laughing it up. No putts, no warm up and then they played lights out. They probably won't want to warm up ever again.”
A&M's third-round score, which was the second-lowest of the day, was the Aggies' lowest round ever at the NCAA Championships by eight strokes and the lowest at any postseason tournament by two shots. The Aggies' surge pushed them into a tie for ninth with Florida State and Oklahoma State at 21-over par. The Aggies are chasing No. 8 Purdue (-6), No. 4 USC (+1), No. 5 Arizona State (+7), No. 7 Alabama (+7), No. 6 Arizona (+11), No. 16 Vanderbilt (+15), No. 1 UCLA (+18) and No. 3 Auburn (+20).
“We really hadn't made any putts in the first two rounds. We had good passes, but they just weren't falling,” McCombs said. “(On Thursday), we had some putts fall for us, which gave us some confidence and momentum. You could see the determination in their faces. It was fun to watch the girls fighting and competing.”
The Aggies were led by senior Julia Boland, who fired a three-under par 69 to shoot 25 spots to a tie for 23rd at three-over. Boland's score matched the lowest round ever at the NCAA Championships, matching a 69 by Jamie Hullett at the 1997 NCAAs. Junior Sara Beth Davis chipped in an even-par 72 and is tied for 36th at six-over. Senior Ashley Freeman shot a three-over 75 and is tied for 65th at 10-over. Freshman Chloe Garner contributed a four-over 76 and is tied for 118th at 23-over.
The Aggies return to action on Friday at 11:30 a.m. (central), and will be paired with Big 12 foe Oklahoma State and South Carolina.
“The girls are feeling very confident right now,” McCombs said. “We're used to coming from behind in the final round. We're going to set our sights on some goals, and do our best to achieve them.”
Rounding out the team standings are South Carolina (+26), No. 2 Duke (+27), No. 14 Pepperdine (+27), No. 13 Virginia (+28), No. 17 New Mexico (+30), Texas (+31), No. 18 TCU (+31), Tulane (+36), No. 12 Tennessee (+40), Kent State (+45), No. 11 Stanford (+45), San Jose State (+57) and Oregon (+60).