March 18, 2009

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 12th-ranked Purdue women's golf team will continue its championship season by traveling to Austin, Texas, to compete at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational on March 20 to 22. The 54-hole event is being hosted by Texas and played at the 6,324-yard, par-72 University of Texas Golf Club.

For the second consecutive week the Boilermakers will be battling among some of the nation's toughest competition, taking on a 17-team field that features six teams ranked in the top 25 of the latest Golfworld/NGCA Coaches' Poll, including the top-ranked team in the country, Arizona State.

Purdue is coming off a 10th place showing at the UCF Challenge where the Boilermakers shot a 54-hole season-low of 882 (+18). Redshirt sophomore Thea Hoffmeister finished in a four-way tie for sixth as an individual with a three-round score of 213 (-3), earning Purdue's third Big Ten Golfer of the Week award this spring.

Senior Maria Hernandez and sophomore Maude-Aimee LeBlanc also took home the conference's weekly honor this spring. Hernandez won the award after finishing in first place at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic, while LeBlanc tied for fifth at the Central District Invitational. Both Hernandez and LeBlanc have finished in the top five a combined six times this season.

Among the 17-team field this weekend is top-ranked Arizona State, No. 8 Duke, No. 13 Vanderbilt, No. 21 Arizona and No. 24 Arkansas, while Notre Dame, New Mexico, Texas A&M, UCF, Furman, South Carolina, Chattanooga, host Texas, Tulsa, Florida State and Oklahoma round out the remaining field. Team rankings are based on the latest Golfworld/NGCA Coaches' Poll released on March 4.

This is the 36th year of the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational and the sixth time Purdue will make the trip to Austin. The Boilermakers took home both the team and individual title in 2007, topping a 15-team field by 11 strokes after firing a 907, led by Hernandez's 217 (+1). New Mexico won the event in 2008 with Arkansas' Stacy Lewis taking medalist honors.

The 54-hole tournament will be played over three days with 18 holes on each day. Tee times will begin at 9:15 a.m. ET on Friday and Saturday, while Sunday's final round will start from a shotgun start at 9:45 a.m. ET.

Live scoring of all three rounds can be found on golfstat.com. A full recap and results of each round will be posted at PurdueSports.com.

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