March 15, 2009
BATON ROUGE, La. – The women’s golf team shot an even-par 288 in the final round of play at the 2009 Louisiana State University Golf Classic, placing the Irish in 12th-place. Freshman Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo./Littleton HS), sophomore All-American So-Hyun Park and senior captain Lisa Maunu (St. Thomas, Ontario/Parkside Collegiate Institute) each carded minus-one (71) scores in the third round of play at the LSU golf club.
The team score of 288 in round three ties for the fourth-lowest round in program history and marks the third time this season Notre Dame has fired a 288. Sunday also marked just the second time this season in which three Irish players notched below-par rounds, with the only other occasion coming on September 29 when the Irish shot a record-low 281 at the Heather Farr Memorial.
Huffer finished the LSU Classic at plus-one (217), putting her in a 16th-place tie. On Sunday she recorded birdies at the 14th and 16th holes and added 15 pars. All told, she recorded a minus-two mark on the tournament’s 12 par-fives. It was Huffer’s second under-par round as a member of the Irish, with her first (also a minus-one 71) coming on the final day of play at the Mary Fossum Invitational in late September.
Park’s minus-one (71) third round put her at plus-four (220) for the tournament, good for a 29th-place tie. On day three, she carded birdies on the first and 17th holes and added 15 pars. It marked her fourth under-par round of the year and the eighth of her Irish career.
Maunu also carded a minus-one (71) in the third round, seven shots better than her second round score of 78. Her 71 was aided by birdies on the seventh, ninth and 15th holes and included a birdie-par-birdie-par finish on her last four holes of play (7-10).
Sophomore Katie Conway (Wading River, N.Y./Shoreham-Wading River) also scored for the Irish, shooting a plus-three (75) on the final day of play. It marked her lowest round of the weekend, three shots better than her second round score of 78. She birdied the 10th and 14th in the third round.
Junior Annie Brophy (Spokane, Wash./Gonzaga Prep) rounded out the Irish contingent by shooting a plus-four 76 in the final round of play.
The Irish return to action next weekend on Friday, March 20 when they tee it up in Austin, Texas at the Betsy Rawls Invitational, hosted by the University of Texas. Live hole-by-hole scoring of the Betsy Rawls Invitational will be available through Golfstat. To access the site go to http://www.golfstatresults.com, while daily recaps will be posted on und.com.
The LSU Classic – Baton Rouge, La. Par 72 – 6,424 Yards
Top-Five Team Scores and Notre Dame (54-hole totals): 1. Virginia 856 (285 -287-284); 2. Tulane University 861 (289-294-278); 3. LSU 867 (287-297-283); 4. Arkansas 869 (298-284-287); t5. Wake Forest 870 (284-296-290); t5. North Carolina 870 (287-296-287); Louisville 870 (296-294-280); 12. Notre Dame 885 (296-301-288).
Top-Five Golfers (54-hole scores): t1.Calle Nielson (Virginia/-7); t1. Lucy Nunn (Arkansas/-7); t1. Benedicte Toumpsin (South Carolina/-7); 4. Nannette Hill (Wake Forest/-6); Daniela Holmqvist (Tulane University/-5); Whitney Neuhauser (Virginia/-5).
Notre Dame Scores (54-hole totals): t16. Becca Huffer 217 (72-74-71); t29. So-Hyun Park 220 (74-75-71); t45. Lisa Maunu 223 (74-78-71); t59. Annie Brophy 226 (76-74-76); t83. Katie Conway 233 (80-78-75).
–ND–