KirkwoodGolf

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Leona Maguire third best qualifier
 
NEWS RELEASE FROM DUKE UNIVERSITY
By Jack Winters
ATHENS, Georgia  – The third-ranked Duke women’s golf team teed off the 2015 Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic on Friday at the 6,401yd, par 72 University of Georgia Golf Course with a 22-over-par, 310, and placed fourth overall in stroke-play qualifying as the Blue Devils head into match play Saturday and Sunday.
UCLA held the team lead in qualifying, after totalling a 13-over-par, 301, while South Carolina (308), Arkansas (309), Duke (310), Baylor (311), Northwestern (315), Georgia (317), USC (317), Purdue (318), Stanford (319), Alabama (320) and Auburn (323) rounded out the field. 
Windy conditions pushed scores higher than normal, with only one Duke freshman Leona Maguire, the No. 1 USA college-ranked golfer, carded a one-over-par 73, and tied third overall in stroke play qualifying. 
Arkansas’s Regina Plasencia placed first with a 71, and Justine Dreher of South Carolina was second. Maguire was tied third along with another GB and Ireland international team player, Hayley Davis (Baylor),  and Erynne Lee (UCLA).
A native of Cavan, Ireland, Maguire collected four birdies on the day and played her final 10 holes at two-under-par to finish with a 73. World No 1 female amateur golfer, Duke junior Celine Boutier suffered a triple-bogey on hole No. 1 and played her next 17 holes at one-over-par to finish with a 76, which placed tied 11th. She had birdies on Nos 9 and 15.
Leona Maguire's twin sister Lisa Maguire finished with an 8
Duke face Baylor in round one of match play. could mean a Leona Maguire versus Hayley Davis encounter.
Either Duke or Baylor will advance to take on the winner of the UCLA v Southern California match. 
The first-round matches are:
UCLA v Southern California
Duke v Baylor
Arkansas v Northwestern
Georgia v South Carolina. 
Purdue v Auburn
Stanford v Alabama
Fans can follow the action with live scoring via www.birdiefire.com.

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