Purdue’s women’s golf team came, saw pretty much the best the West has to offer, and conquered.The seventh-ranked Boilermakers claimed their fourth victory of the season and second in a row by beating USC by seven strokes in the Battle of Rancho Bernardo in cold and rainy conditions at Rancho Bernardo Golf Club.
“I think the tough weather definitely impacted the scores, (but) our team seemed to handle it better than the others,” Coach Devon Brouse of Purdue said. “We know there’s a lot of great teams in college golf and any given week, six, eight, 10 teams could win a national championship.
“We’re trying to build toward the postseason and that’s our Big Ten Championship, regionals and then on to nationals. I think it is an ongoing process of trying to put your best foot forward.”
The Boilermakers, who captured the the Administaff Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate in their previous start, posted a score of 295-292-292–879, 15-over par, finishing in the top 10 for the eighth time in as many starts this season.
Perhaps it was because Purdue has endured a long, cold winter at home in West Lafayette, Ind., that it adapted better to the inclement conditions than the teams from warmer climates.
USC was second at 299-295-292–886, followed by second-ranked UCLA at 293-304-290–887, Georgia at 310-304-289–903, Auburn at 305-307-293–905, UC Davis at 294-307-308–909 and Arizona at 303-302-307–912.
Pepperdine totaled 311-308-295–914 and tied for eighth with Texas, which wound up at 303-306-305–914, while UNLV was 10th at 304-303-308–915.
Arizona State finished 11th at 297-316-304–917, followed by Denver at 314-305-304– 923, California at 306-314-304–924, Oregon at 309-318-307–934, Texas Christian at 322-309-306–937, New Mexico at 312-317-311–940 and San Diego State at 309-321- 311–941.
Laura Gonzalez-Escallon of Purdue, a sophomore from Colombia who moved to Belgium when she was 10, claimed the second title of her college career by shooting 70-71-68–207, seven-under par.
“I love the game; I love practicing and improving,” said Gonzalez-Escallon, the 2010 Big Ten champion, who also captured the 2008 British Girls Championship and the 2008 Belgian Girls Championship.
“I love that about golf in general; whether it’s chipping, putting, or driving, you always have something to work on.”
Lizette Salas of USC shot 73-71-71–215 and tied for second with Therese Koelbaek of UNLV, who finished at 72-70-73–215, and Cydney Clanton of Auburn wound up at 71-76-71–218 to tie for fourth with Giulia Molinaro of Arizona State, who checked in at 69-76-73–218.
Numa Gulyanamitta of Purdue totaled 73-75-71–219 and tied for sixth with Sophia Popov of USC, who finished at 74-73-72–219.
Marta Silva of Georgia carded a score of 77-72-71–220 and tied for eighth with Stephanie Kono of UCLA, who wound up at 71-78-71–220, and Thea Hoffmeister of Purdue, who came in at 73-74-73–220.
— Tom LaMarre
