AUBURN, Wash. — LSU senior Meredith Duncan said her final collegiate round of golf was a memory-filled day as she shot a 1-over par 73 to conclude the 2002 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships in 19th place.
Duncan had a couple of birdies in her final stroll around the University of Washington Golf Course, but a double-bogey on the par 3 fifth would hurt her score as she ended up with her second 1-over 73 of the competition.
“I knew it was my last collegiate round,” said Duncan. “But in the end it was just another round of golf. I just couldn’t get the putts to fall. I did have a lot of memories to think about as I went around. I really wish my teammates could have been here with me. It really has been a wonderful time.”
Duncan finished with a 4-day, 72-hole total of 4-over par 292, good enough for the tie for 19th in a competition won wire-to-wire by Virada Nirapathpongporn of Duke with a four-day total of 9-under 279. Nirapathpongporn had rounds of 68-69-70-72. She won by five strokes over four golfers including Summer Sirmons of Georgia and Danielle Downey of Auburn.
Arizona could not hold the team lead which it had held since the beginning on Friday, shooting 8-over and falling back to a tie for second with Auburn and Texas with a 72-hole score of 18-over. It was Duke playing steady golf on the final day, shooting a 1-under 287 to win by six strokes at 12-over par 1,164 (294-293-290-287), scoring improving rounds each and every day.