What started out as a war between teams ended up as a battle between two sensational sophomores this past weekend at the Rolex Fall Preview in Columbus, Ohio.
Nearly all of the best teams in the nation gathered at the par-72, 6,037-yard Ohio State Scarlet layout with one objective in mind: Win the tournament and take center stage as the team to beat next May at the NCAA Championships. After it was all said and done, defending national champion Arizona proved that it still has the game to repeat, as it bested the rest of the field by 15 strokes.
More impressive, however, was the battle for medalist honors between Duke's Jenny Chuasiriporn and Marisa Baena from Arizona, last year's NCAA individual champion. Heading into the final round, Chuasiriporn was one stroke behind Heather Bowie of Texas and three behind Baena. As Bowie faded, Chuasiriporn made a run at the title, only to come up one stroke shy of Baena's 219 total. Her final round 71 marked the lowest round of the day and tied for lowest round of the tournament.
"Jenny has set some good, but realistic goals for herself," Duke coach Dan Brooks said. "Her finish here fell into that of what she expects to do."
What impressed Brooks the most was the entire Blue Devil team and its ability to dig down deep during the final round of competition. In jeopardy of falling back a few places on the front nine Sunday, Duke was able to fight back and finish in third place overall.
"On the last day, the majority of our strokes were over par on the first seven or eight holes," Brooks said. "The team showed great spirit and camaraderie. Things slowed down enough so they were able to talk on the par 3's and rally each other. We played some of our best golf coming in at the end. I'm pleased that we have people that can pull that out of each other."
After Friday's opening round, the Blue Devils quickly found themselves 10 strokes out of first place. It was by far Duke's worst day of the tournament, as both Chuasiriporn and junior Alicia Allison had their worst rounds, shooting 77 and 79, respectively. It put the Blue Devils behind the eight ball right away, as two rounds in the 80's had to be counted.
The Blue Devils were able to shoot themselves back into contention following a second round 305, but it turned out to be a case of too little, too late. Paced by Baena and the rest of the Arizona contingent, the Wildcats were able to distance themselves from the field with a 298, followed by a final round 310 which wrapped up the title.
The overall scores for the tournament were fairly high, as only seven players were able to break 230 for the three rounds. Allison, paced by a second round 75, finished in a tie for 10th place, 14 strokes behind Baena. Arizona and Oregon were the only two teams to break 300 for the tournament, as each team shot 298 and 297, respectively, on Saturday.
"I think a lot of players let the course get to them," Chuasiriporn said. "The pin placements were tough, and the greens were fast. I just tried to take one shot at a time and hit fairways and greens."
What the tournament did help to prove is that the gap between the western powers and the second-tier eastern teams is getting smaller. Nearly every year the golfing elite from the west top all of the polls, as only a few East Coast teams, usually led by the likes of Duke and Wake Forest, enter the national title picture. This season may be different as the Deacons and Blue Devils finished second and third, respectively.
"The field was really strong, so I guess it's a good sign that we didn't play our best and still did this well," Chuasiriporn said. "I think with a little improvement we could go far. We have a lot to look forward to."
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