SUNRIVER, Ore. “”mdash; As UCLA sophomore Hannah Jun’s
approach shot caromed into the lake bordering the ninth hole on the
Meadows Course at the Sunriver Resort, the wind began to pick up,
and a light rain started to fall.
It was a foreboding sign to the Bruins, who at the time were
tied atop the leaderboard, that a storm was on the horizon.
Yet while the inclement weather never materialized, the play of
the first-ranked Duke Blue Devils certainly did.
And that has second-ranked UCLA (30-over par), who resides in
third place after Thursday’s third round, needing to put
forth a courageous effort in today’s final round to overtake
an inspired Duke team (21-over par), who leads the Bruins by nine
shots.
“If we don’t play our best tomorrow, we’re not
going to win,” UCLA coach Carrie Forsyth said.
“To win this tournament, you’re going to have to
have a good round. We can’t back into it. We have to have
that round tomorrow.”
With the winds having died down, the temperatures having risen,
and the heavy rain having dissipated, the Meadows Course appeared
to be there for the taking, and it was the Blue Devils who more
than happily obliged.
Beginning Thursday in fifth place and nine shots behind the
leaders, Duke shrugged off a mediocre start to bring the
course’s back nine to its knees, firing a collective 9-under
par on the inward nine and finishing the day with an astounding
6-under par total.
Highlighted by Blue Devil sophomore Anna Grzebien’s nearly
flawless 6-under par 65, Duke’s performance has the team on
the cusp of claiming the national title back from UCLA when both
teams tee off together this afternoon.
Though the Bruins posted a collective team total of 8-over par
on the afternoon, the second-best team total of the day, UCLA came
off the course Thursday feeling like it had wasted a chance
opportunity to separate itself from the 24-team field, and instead
is now stuck in the middle of it.
“We’re not going to shoot a mediocre round and win,
and we’ve played that way since I’ve gotten
here,” Forsyth said.
“Today was just OK, nothing too spectacular,” said
senior Charlotte Mayorkas, who shot 2-over par Thursday and is
4-over par for the tournament.
While freshman Amie Cochran certainly capitalized on the
favorable conditions, carding UCLA’s only under-par round of
the tournament thus far with a 1-under par 70 on Thursday, none of
her teammates could join her in red figures.
Instead, most of the Bruins fell victim to the same mistakes
that have been plaguing them all tournament long, getting off to
another slow start on Thursday and missing multiple putts of under
three feet.
But no one has been more frustrated than junior Susie
Mathews.
UCLA’s highest finisher last season at the NCAA
Championships, Mathews, who screamed at her putter after missing a
three-foot putt on the par-4 15th, followed her 11-over par 82 on
Wednesday with an equally disappointing 7-over par 78 on Thursday,
both of which were dropped as the low score.
“I’ve been very disappointed with the way I’ve
been playing,” Mathews said. “I lost my confidence in
my swing, which I just regained at the end of the day
today.”
“We would have liked to have played better as a whole in
each round, but we can’t focus on what should have been. All
we can do is focus on how we’ll play tomorrow.”
Though the Bruins still feel their best golf is yet to be
played, their time is running out quickly.
Even with a forecast of rain and heavy winds for today’s
final round and the pins traditionally tucked in their toughest
locations, UCLA believes it needs to at least shoot two under-par
rounds to have a chance at repeating as champions.
But it’s a challenge the Bruins believe they’re up
for.
“Great for Duke for playing well, but one good round
isn’t going to win the tournament,” Cochran said.
“There’s still the final round, and any one of us is
capable of going low on any given day. And hopefully a couple of us
have that day tomorrow.”