May 22, 1999
TULSA, Okla. - The Arizona State women's golf team, winners of six NCAA titles in the 1990s and the two-time defending NCAA champion, had the momentum and the low scores entering the final nine holes in the final round of the NCAA Championships on Saturday. But they simply ran out of sunshine in their bid to win their seventh title in the 90s at The Tulsa Country Club (par-71/6,202 yards) on Saturday.
In one of the most bizarre endings to any NCAA Championship, the Sun Devils were down eight strokes to Duke at the beginning of the day but had cut the lead to just two strokes when thunderstorms halted and then eventually cancelled the fourth round. The NCAA Women's Golf Committee last summer voted to not compete in NCAA Championships on Sunday, so the fourth round will not be completed and Duke was declared the NCAA Champion by virtue of the third round scores. Grace Park was declared the individual champion. Officially, ASU tied for second with Georgia.
Park had about a 15-foot birdie putt on hole 13 at the time of the storms, while the rest of the Sun Devils were making up ground on Duke and had actually tied the Blue Devils earlier in the day. ASU easily had the best round of the day, as it was +6 on the day and Duke was at +12. Duke was at +57 overall and the Sun Devils had closed to +55. Arizona was the next closest team, but it was six strokes behind ASU.
On the day, Grace Park was 3-over-par, Caroline Laurens was 1-under, Jody Niemann was 4-over and Tui Selvaratnam was even.
"We have players on this team who believed we could comeback and win and know what it takes to win a national championship," said ASU head coach Linda Vollstedt. "I know only one other player on the course (Kirssie Register of Arizona in 1996) had won a national team title, and we have four players who have won six titles. We were making up ground, we were making up strokes and I fully believed we were going to win and so did the players. Our girls competed as hard as they could, and it is unfortunate that the championship was decided this way."
Park has won seven tournaments in her 19 collegiate appearances and officially finished at 1-under 212 (69-73-70).
Individually, three Sun Devils had their best rounds of the tournament on Friday (May 21) as ASU was building momentum heading into their supposed final round on Saturday, as senior Tui Selvaratnam shot a 74 (76-79-74=229), while classmate Jody Niemann shot a 4-over 75 (80-76-75=231). Caroline Laurens also had her best round of the tournament, shooting a 75 (79-81-75=235). Senior Keri Cornelius shot a 78. Cornelius and Selvaratnam both played in their fourth NCAA Championship and were part of two NCAA title teams (1997 and 1998).
Final day three results can be accessed on the NCAA website (www.ncaachampionships.com) or on the University of Tulsa athletic website (www.utulsaathletics.com/ncaagolf) as Arizona State wraps up the decade with six NCAA titles in the 1990s (1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1998). Saturday's final round coverage will be tape-delayed on Sunday, May 23 from 2:30-4:30 MST.
Round Three Scores (Rain Cancels Fourth Round Scores)
Team Scores (Par 284/852-3 rounds) Individual Scores (Par 71/213-3 rounds)
1. Duke 288-309-298=895 (+43) 1. Grace Park (ASU) 69-73-70=212 (-1)
T2. ASU 300-309-294=903 (+51) 2. Candy Hannemann (Duke) 71-72-70=213 (E)
T2. Georgia 301-303-299=903 (+51) 3. Shauna Estes (Georgia) 77-70-69=216 (+3)
4. Arizona 305-307-292=904 (+52) **No other players better than 220 (+7)
5. Pepperdine 302-301-308=911 (+59)
6. Tulsa 313-300-300=913 (+61) Other ASU Scores
7. USC 305-302-307=914 (+62) T-24. Tui Selvaratnam (ASU) 76-79-74=229 (+16)
T-35. Jody Niemann (ASU) 80-76-75=231 (+18)
T-52. Kerri Cornelius (ASU) 76-81-78=235 (+22)
T-52. Caroline Laurens (ASU) 79-81-75=235 (+22)
FOURTH ROUND SCORES AT TIME OF CANCELLATION
(FINAL DAY IS PAR SCORING)
1. Duke 288-309-298-(+12) = +55 1. Grace Park (ASU) 69-73-70-(+3) = +2
2. ASU 300-309-294-(+6) = +57 2. Candy Hannemann (Duke) 71-72-70-(+3) = +3