McCauley Is 12 under, Wins Boilermaker Classic; Gophers Finish 3rd

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Bella McCauley birdied the first hole at the Kampen-Cosler Course on Monday morning and never trailed on the way to her first individual victory in college competition, at the Boilermaker Classic. The University of Minnesota sophomore birdied six of the first 14 holes and started off with a 5-under-par 67, then followed it with a 68 Monday afternoon and a 69 Tuesday. Her 54-hole aggregate of 204 (minus 12) was three shots better than the second-place total turned in by Purdue's Kan Bunnabodee.

Bunnabodee, a fifth-year senior from Thailand, had the low 18-hole score of the tournament, a 63 in the second round.

Louisville's Hana Ryskova, a grad student from the Czech Republic, finished third, another three back at 210.

McCauley had a variety pack early in her second round. She bogeyed the first hole, birdied the second and third, then made a double bogey at the par-5 fourth. But the former Minnesota state Class AAA high school champion from Inver Grove Heights parred the fifth hole and played the last 12 in 5 under. She began the final round with a three-stroke lead over Bunnabodee and increased it to four with a front-nine 33. From the fifth hole of Round 2 to the 11th hole of Round 3, she was 8 under. Her lead was cut to three once again when she bogeyed the par-4 12th (387 yards), but she pretty much sealed the deal with birdies at the 342-yard, par-4 15th and 524-yard, par-5 16th holes.

During her freshman year, McCauley never won, but she had. top-10 finishes in each of her last four tournaments, including a second at the Big Ten Championships.

Two Minnesota newcomers also finished in the top 25 at the Boilermaker. Hailey Loh, a senior who transferred from California Baptist, posted three consecutive 73s for a 219 and a tie for 17th, and Sara Tomaszewski, a freshman from Cancun, Mexico, bounced back from an opening 77 with a pair of 72s, and she tied for 22nd with a 221.

As a team, the Gophers were remarkably consistent, combining for even-par totals of 288 in all three rounds, and their overall score of 864 was good enough for a third-place finish. Purdue was seventh after a first-round 296, but the host Boilermakers followed that with the lowest single-round team score of the tournament -- by 14 strokes! -- an 18-under 270, and they cruised from there to a six-shot victory, ending up with an aggregate of 852. Alabama was second at 858, six behind Purdue and six ahead of the Gophers, who finished 12 ahead of fourth-place Louisville's 876.


Boilermaker Classic

At Kampen-Cosler Course

Par 72

West Lafayette, Ind.

Final results

1. Purdue 296-270-286--852

2. Alabama 284-287-287--858

3. Minnesota 288-288-288--864

4. Louisville 292-297-287--876

5. Notre Dame 297-293-289--879

6. Georgia Southern 298-290-292--880

7. Indiana 298-294-292--884

T8. Western Kentucky 292-299-296--887

T8. Long Beach State 293-305-289--887

10. Rutgers 297-297-300--894

11. Old Dominion 294-305-302--901

12. James Madison 292-305-307--904

13. Charlotte 303-298-309--910

14. Ball State 310-310-299--919

15. Mercer 306-307-307--920

Individuals

1. Bella McCauley, Minnesota 67-68-69--204

2. Kan Bunnabodee, Purdue 75-63-69--207

3. Hana Ryskova, Louisville 68-71-71--210

T4. Taylor Kehoe, Alabama 69-71-71--211

T4. Lauren Beaudreau, Notre Dame 74-70-67--211

6. Jocelyn Bruch, Purdue 69-69-74--212

T7. Sarah Edwards, Alabama 70-73-70--213

T7. Kendall Turner, James Madison 70-69-74--213

T17. Hailey Loh, Minnesota 73-73-73--219

T22. Sara Tomaszewski, Minnesota 77-72-72--221

T34. Grace Curran, Minnesota 76-77-71--224*

T37. Megan Furtney, Minnesota 76-75-74--225

T60. Emma Carpenter, Minnesota 72-81-76--229

*--competing as an individual only