Fassi leads red-hot Arkansas to ANNIKA Intercollegiate crown

   Arkansas, led by individual champion Maria Fassi, a junior from Mexico, earned its second straight impressive team championship, rolling to a 12-shot victory over an elite field in the ANNIKA Intercollegiate, presented by 3M, which concluded Tuesday at Olympic Hills Golf Club in Eden Prairie, Minn.

   Coming off a spectacular 41-under-par effort in winning the Mason Rudolph Women’s Championship at the Vanderbilt Legends Club that vaulted the Razorbacks to No. 1 in the latest Golfweek poll, Arkansas was equally impressive in the ANNIKA Intercollegiate.

   A couple of really talented teams in Texas and Stanford made big moves at Arkansas in Monday’s second round, but Arkansas shrugged off the challenge with a 10-under 278 in Tuesday’s final round when Olympic Hills appeared to play a little tougher than it had the first two days, at least it did for everybody but the Razorbacks.

   After grabbing the lead with an opening round of even-par 288 in difficult weather conditions – not impossible like Day 1 of last spring’s NCAA Championship at Rich Harvest Farms, just difficult – the Razorbacks added a 6-under 282 Monday and then finished it up with Tuesday’s  278 for a 16-under 848 total.

   Reigning Pac-12 champion UCLA, led by freshman phenom Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand, fired a final round of 3-under 285 to move up into second place at 4-under 860.

   It was another 10 shots back to the Bruins’ Pac-12 rival Stanford, which had a final round of 8-over 296 to finish third at 6-over 870.

   Reigning Big 12 champion Texas, which had a spectacular 14-under 274 in Monday’s second round, fell back to with a 299 in the final round and finished tied for fourth with Furman at 9-over 873. The Paladins also had a sizzling second round with an 11-under 277, but fell back with a 296 in the final round.

   South Carolina had a final-round 296 to take sixth at 11-over 875 and Southern California, yet another strong Pac-12 entry, had a final-round 292 to finish seventh at 885.

   Fassi, who trailed Furman’s Natalie Srinivasan, a sophomore from Spartanburg, S.C., by two shots heading into Tuesday’s final round, ripped off a 6-under 66 for a 10-under 206 total that was five shots clear of the field. Fassi shared the individual title with Alabama’s Lauren Stephenson at the Mason Rudolph.

   Two of Fassi’s teammates, Ariana Uriell, a sophomore from Carlsbad, Calif., and Dylan Kim, a junior from Plano, Texas, were among a group of four players tied for third at 4-under 212. Uriell and Kim each carded a 1-under 71 in the final round.

   Cara Goriel, a junior from South Africa, saved her best round for last, a 2-under 70 that left her tied for 18^th at 2-over 218. Kaylee Benton, a junior from Buckeye, Ariz., rounded out the Arkansas lineup with a final round of 2-over 74. Arkansas tossed Benton’s score in every round, but she still finished tied for 41^st at 228.

   Tavatanakit, the top American Junior Golf Association player the last two years, added a 1-under 71 to steady rounds of 71 and 69 to earn runnerup honors at 5-under 211.

   Joining Arkansas’ Uriell and Kim in the quartet tied for third at 4-under 212 were Furman’s Srinivasan and Stanford’s Andrea Lee, a sophomore from Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Srinivasan had the lead after rounds of 70 and 68, but fell back with a 2-over 74. Lee was the best freshman in the country a year ago and competes every time. She added a second straight 69 after opening with a 74 to get her share of third.

   Texas senior Sophia Schubert, the U.S. Amateur champion from Oak Ridge, Tenn., matched par in the final round with a 72 to share seventh place with Miami’s Dewi Weber, a junior from the Netherlands, at 3-under 213. Schubert had surged into contention with a 5-under 67 in the second round. Weber, who fired a 6-under 66 in the second round, finished up with a 1-under 71.

   Leading the way for Southern Cal was Robynn Ree, a junior from Redondo Beach, Calif. who matched par in the final round with a 72 to finish tied for ninth with Georgia’s Jillian Hollis, a junior from Rocky River, Ohio, at 2-under 214.

   Hollis sandwiched a 2-under 70 in the second round with a pair of even-par 72s. Hollis and the Bulldogs were a disappointing 11^th of 12 in the team standings with a 900 total, but don’t sleep on Georgia. The Bulldogs will be heard from before this is all over in May at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.

   A lot of things can change between now and then. Followers of Arkansas golf know what can happen. The Razorbacks lost another standout from Mexico, Gaby Lopez, to the LPGA Tour in the middle of the 2015-16 season.

   That’s when Fassi showed up and helped fill the void, but Arkansas never really recovered. Stage II of LPGA Qualifying School will be held this month and some very good players may make the same decision Lopez did two years ago before the second half of the season fires up again in February.

   The coaches would never stand in the way of a player opting to go to the LPGA. But it would be kind of like the NFL holding its draft in the middle of the college football season and say, Saquon Barkley, leaving Penn State after the Michigan game to join the NFL.

   The ANNIKA Intercollegiate was a great event that featured some of the best teams and individuals in the country. And Arkansas looks unbeatable right now. But there’s a lot of golf to be played between now and May.

   Enjoy the fall portion of the schedule for what it is, some great tournaments with a lot of players continuing to roll after strong summers.