Andrea Revuelta and Carolina López Chacarra have done it again. The two Spaniards have won their respective ‘Regionals’ and have secured their universities a place in the NCAA Final which starts in eight days. The Armada continues to put on a show across the pond. It’s spectacular, don’t get used to something that isn’t normal. What a level our youth academy has.
Both the Lubbock and Norman Regional started a day earlier than planned to avoid a storm that could have left them without golf. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case. The ones who have dominated their respective events have been the Madrilenians. The other four events finish this Wednesday.
For Andrea Revuelta, it’s her second consecutive victory following her win in the conference tournament just twenty days ago. Additionally, she finished fourth in the ANWA and as the first reserve at her venue in the qualifier for the US Open. However, Carolina López Chacarra’s form is also out of this world. She did secure a spot for the US Open in the qualifiers and finished in the top ten of the ANWA.
Carolina (-7) entered the final round with a two-shot lead over Farah O’Keefe. She ended up winning by three. She delivered three under-par cards of 69, 71, and 69 again to close, no other player in the field beat the course in all three rounds. She started as one should in a final round, with two birdies in the first three holes, giving her a three-shot lead. She controlled the round at all times and only made one bogey. The lead never dropped below two shots, and a bogey from Farah with three holes to go sealed the victory.
On the other hand, Andrea Revuelta (-8) had to come back in her third and final round. She started two shots off the lead. What the Spaniard did was put on an authentic display and delivered the best card of the week at the decisive moment. A round of 67 shots to finish one shot ahead of Ashley Yun (-7). If Andrea’s problem in the second round was an inconsistent stretch of three consecutive bogeys, the last 18 holes were immaculate. Five birdies and no mistakes. She started like a rocket with four of them in the first five holes, from there it was time to hold on. The birdie on the 16th hole was the decisive touch to seal the deal.
Paula Martín adds another top ten by finishing eighth and has contributed to the team victory. Paula Balanzategui has also qualified for the Nationals with Michigan State, finishing third in the team standings in the Lubbock event. Both Andrea with Stanford and Carol with Wake Forest have also been crowned champions of their Regionals and are among the favourites for the Nationals.
Martina López Lanchares will also be at that event, having delivered the best card of the week in the final round in Lubbock, allowing her team Tennessee to come back and finish third in the team standings. The top five universities advance to the Nationals. Individually, Martina finished fifth thanks to her spectacular final 66. A comeback of great merit.
Who won’t be at the decisive event of the year is Cata Fernández, who fell with Texas A&M in the playoff against Purdue for the fifth spot. The Madrilenian flew as low as Martina with a final round of 66 shots, but they fell in the decisive tiebreaker. Despite finishing 14th in the individual standings, she won’t advance as the best player from non-qualifying universities. A shame for the Spaniard, who thus closes the university season. Anna Cañadó has also been eliminated with her Duke team.
The good news doesn’t end here as Paula Francisco continues to lead in the Regional in Charlottesville and Carla Bernat is third in Lexington. Don’t rule out waking up tomorrow with two more victories across the Atlantic.
