STILLWATER, Okla. — The top-ranked Alabama women’s golf team turned in one of only two under par rounds in the 24-team field Sunday to move out to an eight-shot lead after three rounds at the NCAA Championships.
Alabama is 2-under par for the tournament after shooting a 4-under 284 during its third-round performance and boasts a 54-hole total of 862 (292-286-284).
Alabama is poised to advance to the match-play portion of the national championships for the first time since the since the NCAA adopted the current format in 2015.
“A course like this, it really separates the good ball strikers,” Alabama coach Mic Potter said. “The ones who can drive it in play, the ones that control their ball in the wind and have good putting touch. There are All-Americans, Curtis Cup players, Palmer Cup players on this team. That’s kind of what you expect from great players. Just let them go and let them play.”
Alabama junior Cheyenne Knight (70-69-70–209) ended the day tied with Wake Forest’s Jennifer Kupcho for the lead at -7 after a 2-under par round. The Aledo, Texas, native’s three-round score equals her school NCAA tournament record for a 54-hole total, set at the 2016 NCAA Championships at the Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Oregon.
Knight is seeking to join former Alabama All-American Emma Talley as the school’s second NCAA individual champion. Talley won medalist honors at the 2015 NCAA Championships at Concession Golf Club in Bradenton, Florida.
“It would be amazing to join Emma as a national champion,” Knight said. “She has always been my role model, both on and off the course. To put my name next to hers would be such an honor.”
Alabama junior Lauren Stephenson (74-69-70–213) and sophomore Kristen Gillman (73-72-70–213) matched Knight’s performance by carding rounds of 2-under. Stephenson is tied for fifth at -3 overall, four shots off the lead. Gillman is tied for seventh at -1 on the par 72, 6,328-yard Karsten Creek layout.
Freshman Angelica Moresco (75-76-78–229) is tied for 75th at +13 and senior Lakareber Abe (76-81-74–231) is at +15 and tied for 91st.
“We’ve played well this year and have a lot of confidence in what we’re doing,” Potter said. “They’re probably going to tell you that they have a chip on their shoulder and all that but they’re really good at going out here and playing golf and trusting in their ability.”
The performance included a 6-under par back nine from its four scoring golfers. That continues a streak of strong play on holes 10-18 as the Tide’s top four each day have combined to shoot -16 on the back nine over the first three rounds.
“I don’t know if the holes are easier (on the back nine) and I’m not sure they are,” Potter added. “It was an opposite wind today so it’s not like you’re catching all downwind holes on the back. I just feel if we can minimize the damage on the front, they play well on the back for whatever reason, I’m not sure what it is.”
At 2-under par, Alabama (292-286-284/862) has an eight-shot lead over second place UCLA (294-279-297/870), which is at +6. The Bruins entered the day with a seven-shot lead against the Crimson Tide after a course record 9-under par round Saturday, but they ballooned to +9 Sunday as Alabama took control of the team race.
Ninth-ranked Arizona (301-291-288/880) is in third at +16, followed by Northwestern (299-293-290/882) in fourth at +18 and first-round leader USC (291-298-296/885) in fifth at 21-over par.
Monday’s final round of stroke play will determine the NCAA women’s individual champion. The top eight teams will qualify for Tuesday’s match play quarterfinals.
Alabama will open Monday’s final round starting at 12:50 p.m. and will be paired with UCLA and Arizona.
Following the conclusion of the fourth round, the NCAA will present the medalist award to the individual champion and hold the draw to set the lineups for the match play quarterfinals.
Coverage of Monday’s round will air live on the Golf Channel beginning at 3 p.m.
Ole Miss ends season
The Ole Miss women’s golf team capped its first appearance at the NCAA Championships with a 24th-place finish.
“This season really has been incredible,” Ole Miss coach Kory Henkes said. “We had several wins, several milestones for our program. I think it’s only going to go up from here. I know we didn’t have the week like we wanted this week, but I’m extremely proud of the entire team and coaching staff here. I just think it’s going to get better and better every year.”
Ole Miss, which featured two freshmen and a sophomore in its traveling team, shot 17-over on the final day to slip one spot on the leaderboard and fall short of the cutline as the top 15 teams will advance to Round 4 of stroke play.
“There are a lot of nerves here. It’s a tough course. You’re playing the best in the country,” Henkes said, “so as we mature as a team, we’ve been here once, we know what to expect when we come back.”
Kie Purdom just missed missing the cut individually, as the top nine players on non-advancing teams are sent to the final round as well. However, the junior from Lexington, Kentucky, birdied her last hole to tie for 50th at 9-over. Purdom finished ahead of eight individuals ranked in the top 50 and 28 of the nation’s top 100 golfers.
“She birdied three of her last nine holes, which is quite impressive,” Henkes said. “Kie played really well this week. It was tough out there mentally and physically. This course is a tough track. We’re really proud of Kie and her effort this week. We’re excited we’ve got her back for one more year.”
Outside of Purdom, the Rebels got strong Round 3 performances from Conner Beth Ball and Pi-Lillebi Hermansson, who will also be back next season. Ball carded three birdies on the day to go 2-over (74). The freshman out of Madison was 5-over through her last 41 holes in Stillwater. Hermansson also had three birdies and finished 3-over (75).
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