Jan. 6, 2009

Maria Hernandez, a senior on the Purdue women's golf team plans to begin her professional golf career immediately after graduation in May 2008. Hernandez, who is currently the 29th ranked collegiate individual but finished last year ranked fifth, qualified for the Duramed FUTURES Tour this past November. Tour play begins in March, but Hernandez will not compete until June in order to finish her career with the Boilermakers.

This is not the first time that Purdue golf has changed her plans for the future. When Hernandez, a native of Pamplona, Spain, finished high school, she planned to stop playing golf in order to study architecture at a university in her home country. She declined all offers from schools in the U.S., but then Purdue head coach Devon Brouse called.

"He just kept saying, `Just give me two days. Just give me two days,'" Hernandez said. "So, I picked two days that I thought would be too busy for them to have me, but he told me to come anyway."

At the time, Hernandez was preparing for the European Championship. She put the championship on hold and she and her mother, neither of whom knew any English, came to Purdue. They instantly loved the family atmosphere and the great support system of the athletic department. Coach Brouse convinced Hernandez to play for his team.

Hernandez is poised to leave the Boilermakers as the most accomplished female golfer in school history. Last year, she finished the season with a No. 5 individual ranking after averaging 71.9 strokes per round. Hernandez became Purdue women's golf's first Big Ten Championships individual medalist en route to capturing her second team championship (2006 and 2008). She is a two-time first team All-American, two-time Big Ten Golfer of the Year and two-time Mary Fossum Award winner. She finished tied for first at the 2008 NCAA Central Regional and helped her team to a fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. In recognition of her outstanding season, Hernandez was named the Purdue Female Athlete of the Year.

Looking to the spring, Hernandez feels confident about the team. She thinks that the women, as a whole, had a strong fall season. After a slow start, the Boilermakers won two tournaments, including the Lady Northern Invitational which they hosted. Hernandez looks at the fall season as a warm-up for the spring and has her eyes on another Big Ten Championship.

"Winning the Big Ten Championship will be our main goal," said Hernandez. "We will also focus on improving day-by-day, tournament-by-tournament."

Personally, Hernandez hopes to improve on her performance this fall. She was not as strong as she had hoped to be. She applies the same philosophy to both individual and team play; improve day-by-day and keep a tournament-by-tournament focus. By the end of the season, Hernandez hopes to have an elite game to take into the professional world.

Ultimately, Hernandez hopes to qualify for the LPGA. She plans to play golf in the U.S. as long as she can, but definitely will return to Europe someday.

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