CARLSBAD, Calif. – Adela Cernousek fired her third-consecutive 4-under 68 on Sunday and widened her individual lead to six strokes at the end of round three at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa. The No. 13 Texas A&M women’s golf team maintained its spot atop of the team standings by one stroke at the 2024 NCAA Championships entering the final day.
“If you would have told me that we would have the lead after 54 holes, I would have been very happy,” Head Coach Gerrod Chadwell said. “Adela was phenomenal today. She has been excellent the past two years in stroke play and match play. She hasn’t put a lot of trophies in the trophy case but has been right there consistently. As a team, I think we left a few shots out there on the back nine. However, we are in a great spot, and I am excited to get back out there tomorrow to compete for a chance at match play.”
Cernousek ignited on the front nine after warming up to the course with two pars on the first two holes of the early morning. The junior proceeded to birdie five of the final seven holes of the front, carding a 31 at the turn. The front was made easy by the Antibes, France, native but she made a singular error on No. 9 where her approach rocketed off the green. She was forced to chip and looked to go up-and-down for par, but instead her shot two-hopped and rolled straight into the hole. Cernousek would drain another birdie on 10 but as the afternoon wore on, the wind eliminated red-number opportunities. Cernousek made several par saves on the back nine and ended the round 4-under 68.
Cernousek took a six-shot lead into round four on the field with a 12-under 204. She is chased by Florida State’s Lottie Woad who sits at 6-under 210 after 54 holes. The 72-hole record for an NCAA Champion is 16-under 272 set by Virginia Elena Carter of Duke in 2016. Carter won the individual crown by eight strokes, which is the largest margin of victory to date. The Aggie is looking to become the first Individual National Champion in program history.
“Before every tournament I don’t have any expectations,” Cernousek said. “I just try to focus on myself and my game. I have been pretty consistent in hitting the fairways and my putts have been going in which has allowed me to go low in my scores. The most important thing to me is that we are in good position to make match play and continue playing past tomorrow.”
Freshman phenom Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio fired a 1-under 71 on day three and vaulted herself into a tie for fourth with a 4-under 212 three-round score. Despite the windy afternoon, Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio shot 2-under 34 on the back nine to keep the lead for the Maroon & White.
Zoe Slaughter, Blanca Fernández García-Poggio and Jennie Park all turned in 3-under 75s in round three, but the course conditions forced the field into a 76.44 stroke average for the day. The trio were all knotted up for 21st, 34th and 86th, respectively.
As a team, A&M fended off top-seeded Stanford for the top spot as the final day of stroke play approached. The Aggies shot a 1-over 289 and were -10 thru three rounds. Ultimately, the Maroon & White are seeking to advance to match play at the conclusion of play on Monday. To do that they will need to finish within the top eight of the team standings, which they currently are 22 strokes ahead of that impending cut.
The Maroon & White will tee off at 2:20 p.m. on Monday to begin the final round. Live stats for the event can be found at Golfstat.com. Additionally, the tournament will be televised on Golf Channel from 5-9 p.m., Monday through Wednesday.
Top-20 Team Standings
1 – Texas A&M (-10)
2 – Stanford (-9)
3 – LSU (-1)
4 – Clemson (+5)
5 – Northwestern (+9)
6 – UCLA (+10)
T7 – Auburn (+12)
T7 – Oregon (+12)
—PROJECTED CUT LINE—
9 – Arkansas (+13)
10 – USC (+14)
11 – Duke (+19)
12 – Wake Forest (+20)
13 – Mississippi State (+21)
14 – Texas (+23)
15 – Florida State (+25)
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