Duke Women's Golf in NCAA Finals

[budwom]

it's just kind of weird to have two (sort of) championship formats...

[SoCalDukeFan]

it's just kind of weird to have two (sort of) championship formats...

is that it was done for TV. I think the thought process is that match play is much more familiar to most golfers and vmost iewers than the best 4 out of 5.

Duke won the NC in 2014 with the 4 out of 5 format. It was not televised but was on the Internet. In my opinion it was very exciting. Last year the match play format was also exciting for the women but less so for the men.

There is really only one champion, the winner of the match play. There may be some recognition for the stroke play champion just as the regular season ACC basketball champion may be recognized but the NC is the winner of the match play.

SoCal

[CameronBlue]

is that it was done for TV. I think the thought process is that match play is much more familiar to most golfers and vmost iewers than the best 4 out of 5.

Duke won the NC in 2014 with the 4 out of 5 format. It was not televised but was on the Internet. In my opinion it was very exciting. Last year the match play format was also exciting for the women but less so for the men.

There is really only one champion, the winner of the match play. There may be some recognition for the stroke play champion just as the regular season ACC basketball champion may be recognized but the NC is the winner of the match play.

SoCal

TV is probably the reason, but I wonder whether some coaches feel match play is a better measure of a team's relative strength against the field. This year's Duke team could be Exhibit A against the argument for a champion determined solely by stroke play with Virginia absolutely running away from the field and the impact of Celine's performance so far negated by the 4 out of 5 format. I seem to recall, (too lazy to go back and look) that Amanda Blumenherst almost singlehandedly willed Duke to one of its regional titles with a 9-under par final round a few years back. Against a field of amateurs in which the quality of competition is typically more uneven the possibility that a team with 1 or 2 stars can "steal" a title is a greater possibility. In stroke play Duke has been able to balance Celine's performance by strong performances from her teammates. Unless she can find her game, Duke will be at a disadvantage in match play. Best bit of trivia about this year's team: Duke has two National Players of the Year in Celine and Leona, with Virginia a strong candidate to be the 3rd.

Which brings up a question: Do the results of stroke play determine the pairings for match play or is it coach's choice?

[SoCalDukeFan]

TV is probably the reason, but I wonder whether some coaches feel match play is a better measure of a team's relative strength against the field. This year's Duke team could be Exhibit A against the argument for a champion determined solely by stroke play with Virginia absolutely running away from the field and the impact of Celine's performance so far negated by the 4 out of 5 format. I seem to recall, (too lazy to go back and look) that Amanda Blumenherst almost singlehandedly willed Duke to one of its regional titles with a 9-under par final round a few years back. Against a field of amateurs in which the quality of competition is typically more uneven the possibility that a team with 1 or 2 stars can "steal" a title is a greater possibility. In stroke play Duke has been able to balance Celine's performance by strong performances from her teammates. Unless she can find her game, Duke will be at a disadvantage in match play. Best bit of trivia about this year's team: Duke has two National Players of the Year in Celine and Leona, with Virginia a strong candidate to be the 3rd.

Which brings up a question: Do the results of stroke play determine the pairings for match play or is it coach's choice?

Coaches do the pairing.

"Team Match Play Pairings: The Division I Women's Golf Committee will determine match play lineups using the same method employed at the President's Cup matches. The higher seeded team (as determined through the 72-hole stroke-play portion), "Team 1", will have the first choice of putting a player on the board for Match #1. The opposing team, "Team 2", will then name its player for Match #1. Team 2 will then name its player for Match #2, and Team 1 will name its player for Match #2. The process will continue in an "S" curve until the players for all five matches are named. However, Team 1 may defer in the selection process and permit Team 2 to begin the overall selection process."

Almost all of the tournaments throughout the year are 4 out of 5. Duke did play in two match play events but I would guess some teams did not play in any. The champ is then determined by a format that is different from almost all of the season.

If two players have bad rounds then you have a very difficult time winning in 4 out of 5. I did not look it up but Amanda may have had a great round, but at least 3 of her other teammates should have had decent rounds. So if you have 3 stars and say me and a buddy you will not win many 4 out of 5 tournaments. But if you have 3 stars you can win 3 matches.

The men have had this match play deal for a few years, the women for one. Pretty sure that in all cases neither the top ranked team nor the team that finished first in the medal portion won the match play.

I would guess that the coaches for the top ranked teams would prefer the 4 out of 5 format to determine the champ. However the other coaches probably like this format as if they can get into the top 8 they then have a chance in match play.

SoCal

[Tom B.]

If you want to follow online, here's the link to the leaderboard:

http://www.ncaa.com/2016-di-womens-golf-leaderboard

[Olympic Fan]

Duke moves into the lead after 4-6 holes ... one shot over Southern Cal

[grossbus]

VEC draining some long birdie putts.

[grossbus]

Leona may have vertigo.

[grossbus]

We are slipping. Now in 6th. Still comfortable lead on 8th.

[Olympic Fan]

VEC up seven shots with four holes to go for the NCAA individual championship.

Duke has not going to win the team medal title, but looks very safe to qualify for match play.

[grossbus]

VEC National individual champion. Wow and congrats.

[msdukie]

VEC National individual champion. Wow and congrats.

Duke's 24th Individual NCAA National Championship.

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...ATCLID=3757529

[DukieInKansas]

Congratulations!

[johnb]

Duke's 24th Individual NCAA National Championship.

http://www.goduke.com/ViewArticle.db...ATCLID=3757529

The list is interesting. Who knew we won 3 NC's in boxing in the 1930's?

I was a little surprised not see Nancy Hogshead on the list. Looking into it, it seems she left Duke after the 1981 season, but women didn't have national championships in swimming until the following season. Is that right??

[Olympic Fan]

So Duke draws Southern Cal in Tuesday's quarterfinals ...

[OZZIE4DUKE]

The list is interesting. Who knew we won 3 NC's in boxing in the 1930's?

I was a little surprised not see Nancy Hogshead on the list. Looking into it, it seems she left Duke after the 1981 season, but women didn't have national championships in swimming until the following season. Is that right??

Next time you're at Duke, go to the Hall of Fame at Schwartz Butters. There is a display case showing all of Duke's individual National Champions! There is more than just basketball there! They completely renovated the space last year.

[YmoBeThere]

What's nice to see is that they already have her name up.

[JasonEvans]

Aside from VEC, we were pretty awful yesterday. The rest of the team was universally among the worst in the field (based on my quick glance). They need to bounce back today because one player cannot carry you in match play!

-Jason "USC was a bad draw -- one of the top teams in the country all season long and a pretty big favorite over us, I suspect" Evans

[sagegrouse]

We start on the 10th hole at 7:00 AM against USC.

• Leona (+3) vs. Karen Chung (+2)
• Sandy Choi (+4) vs. Kyung Kim (+4)
• Gurbani Singh (+18) vs. Robynn Ree (+8)
• Virginia Elena (-16) vs. Tiffany Chan (-2)
• Celine (+32, ouch!) vs. Gabriella Then (+5)

VEC shot 48 shots better than Celine. Wow! I'm really pulling for Mlle. Boutier today.

Go Duke!!!!

Kindly,
Sage
'Oh and both USC's are in the playoffs. South Carolina plays defending champion Stanford'
"Also, there's a real West Coast bias in the results. Poa annua on the greens? Five PAC-12 teams made the round of eight: Oregon, UDub, UCLA and the two mentioned"

[wilson]

We start on the 10th hole at 7:00 AM against USC.

• Leona (+3) vs. Karen Chung (+2)
• Sandy Choi (+4) vs. Kyung Kim (+4)
• Gurbani Singh (+18) vs. Robynn Ree (+8)
• Virginia Elena (-16) vs. Tiffany Chan (-2)
• Celine (+32, ouch!) vs. Gabriella Then (+5)

Just to clarify for everyone: That's 7:00 Pacific Time.
Real time stats & results can be found here.