As the collegiate golf season moves closer to conference tournaments and the NCAA championships, every shot is proving crucial.
And there was no lack of action in the past week. Although the Augusta National Women’s Amateur is still ongoing, many women’s collegiate golf teams were in action over the weekend, including many of the stars who played at one of the biggest amateur events in the world. And for men, a Division II team won a Division I event at Torrey Pines, and one of the nation’s best teams beat a loaded field at Valspar Collegiate.
Here’s what you need to know about the past week of college golf.
Oklahoma Christian wins UC San Diego Invitational
Torrey Pines in San Diego is a course steeped in tradition and history. The property has crowned numerous great champions such as Tiger Woods and most recently Jon Rahm and hosts the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open each January.
Now the course has added another chapter to its annals: a Division II team winning a Division I event.
Oklahoma Christian, fourth in D-II, won Tuesday’s UC San Diego Invitational, shooting 32-under 832 to capture the teams title by two shots over Seattle. Oklahoma Christian undershot 12 in the second and third rounds, the lowest score of any team in the tournament, to take home the title on Torrey Pines’ North Course.
The Eagles also placed three golfers in the top 10. Exequiuel Rodriguez was third individually, shooting 7-under 65 in the final round and finishing with 11-under 205. Alejandro Armijo was T-4 with 9-under and Santiago Villareal was T-7 , shooting 8 under.
CSU-Northridge’s Eirik Thomassen won the singles title by six shots, shooting 20-under 196 over 54 holes. Seattle’s Nathan Cogswell shot 14 under and finished second.
North Carolina acquires Valspar Collegiate
The North Carolina men’s golf team conquered the Valspar Collagiate on Tuesday, undershooting 12 in the final round to card a 27-under 825 and beating second-place Texas Tech by six shots.
the tar heels, Second in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, took his fourth win of the season. North Carolina’s victory at the Floridian in Palm City, Fla. came over a handful of high-ranked opponents including No. 3 Texas Tech (21-under), No. 10 Texas (15-under), No. 7 Florida State (13-under), No. 4 Arizona State (9 under) and No. 12 Pepperdine (9 under).
Ohio State ranked fifth with 12 under.
The individual rankings were also packed, with No. 2 Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg taking home the one-stroke win with 11 under. North Carolina’s David Ford, fourth, and Georgia Southern’s Ben Carr, who finished second at the 2022 US Amateur, finished second with 10 under.
Also well placed for the tar heels was Austin Greaser, who finished 7-under eighth. Ryan Burnett placed 3 under 20th.
Zoe Campos of UCLA, Pepperdine women victorious in Hawaii
Pepperdine Women’s Golf won the Annual Spring Break Classic. (Photo: Ka’anapali Golf Courses)
It was a successful trip to the Ka’anapali Golf Course in Lahaina, Hawaii for the Pepperdine women’s golf team, who won the Anuenue Spring Break Classic team title on Wednesday.
The Waves were one of four schools in the field of 14 teams that shot under par in the finals. Pepperdine was level with Denver in the finals but shot 3 under to finish the tournament with 18 under 846. Denver shot 4 over and finished seven shots back at 11 under. UCLA placed third with 10 under.
But Zoe Campos of UCLA, 17th in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankingsShe took the singles title home with her. It was the first win of her career, and she pulled it off wire-to-wire.
UCLA’s Zoe Campos won the Annual Spring Break Classic. (Photo: Ka’anapali Golf Courses)
Campos shot 66-67-71 to finish 11 under, a shot better than Tulane’s Carla Bernat, who finished in 22nd place. Denver’s Alyson Bean finished third with 9 under and Stanford’s Sadie Englemann, who played singles, finished fourth with 8 under.
Pepperdine’s Lion Higo and Reese Guzman tied for 7 in fifth place to lead the waves.
Northwestern takes the crown at the invited ASU/Ping Invitational
In a field that included seven of the nation’s top 15 teams, Northwestern emerged victorious at the ASU/Ping Invitational at the Papago Golf Course in Phoenix.
The No. 14 Wildcats ran away from host No. 9 Arizona State in the team race, shooting 18-under to win by 14 shots. Northwestern and the Sun Devils were the only two teams to shoot under par. No. 13 Baylor finished third with 3 overs, No. 7 Mississippi State finished fourth with 4 overs, and No. 8 Texas finished fifth with 6 overs.
Baylor’s Sera Hasegawa and Northwestern’s Kelly Sim both shot 10 under 206s to share the medal wins. Mississippi State’s Julia Lopez Ramirez, who is fielding this week’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur, placed third after shooting 8 under. Northwestern’s Dianna Lee finished fourth with 4 under.
Update of the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking list
Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings
Source : sports.yahoo.com