Even shorthanded, Southern California edges host UCLA for team title in Bruin Wave Invitational

   It was the spring of 2018 when Southern California was decimated by several midseason defections, chief among them Robynn Ree, who had qualified for the LPGA Tour in the old LPGA Qualifying School Final Stage.

   But in what turned out to be the final season with the legendary Andrea Gaston at the helm, four freshmen and a sophomore shrugged, went to work and made it all the way to the semifinals in the NCAA Championship at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.

   That same can-do attitude was still very much in evidence in this week’s Bruin Wave Invitational, hosted by the Trojans’ age-old, cross-town Pac-12 rival UCLA at San Luis Obispo Country Club in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

   At some point in Monday’s double-round, it became apparent that Southern Cal’s Gabriela Ruffels, a junior from Australia and No. 17 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), was injured and five-score-four was going to be four-score-four, no safety net, no room for somebody to have a bad day.

   Ruffels was one of the four freshmen on that 2017-2018 team. She pulled out a gutsy victory in the sweltering humidity of West Point, Miss. last summer when she drained a 10-foot birdie putt on the 36^th green to claim a 1-up victory over former Stanford star Albane Valenzuela and win the U.S. Women’s Amateur title.

   With Justin Silverstein replacing Gaston, who departed for Texas A&M, it was a disappointing spring in 2019 for Southern California. If you can call winning a team title in the Cle Elum Regional and reaching match play in the NCAA Championship at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. before falling to Pac-12 rival Arizona, a disappointing season.

   One of those four freshmen from two years ago, Jennifer Chang, the individual champion at Cle Elum last spring, departed for the Symetra Tour during the midseason break.

   But three other holdovers from that 2018 starting five, Amelia Garvey, a junior, from New Zealand and No. 31 in the Women’s WAGR, Alyaa Abdulghany, a junior from Newport Beach, Calif. and No. 40 in the Women’s WAGR, and Allisen Corpuz, a senior from Honolulu, Hawaii and No. 39 in the Women’s WAGR, along with Malia Nam, a sophomore from Kailua, Hawaii, were good enough to edge UCLA by two shots and claim the team title for the fifth time in the 11-year history of the Bruin Wave Invitational, which wrapped up Tuesday.

   Southern California, No. 2 in the latest Golfstat rankings, struggled to an opening round of 12-over-par 300 Monday morning with Ruffels coming to the realization that she could not continue at some point during that round. But they bounced back with a 6-under 282, easily the best team round of the tournament over the 6,103-yard, par-72 San Luis Obispo layout, in Monday afternoon’s second round to take control of the tournament.

   The Trojans gutted out an 8-over 296 in Tuesday’s final round for a 14-over 878 total. No. 14 UCLA closed with its second straight 4-over 292 to finish alone in second place at 16-over 880.

   Perennial Big Ten power Northwestern, ranked 42^nd, was Southern Cal’s closest pursuer through two rounds, the Wildcats posting scores of 292 and 293 in Monday’s double-round for a 9-over 585 total. Northwestern, behind individual co-champion Kelly Sim, a sophomore from Edgewater, N.J., closed with a 9-over 297 to finish in a tie for third place with another Pac-12 entry, No. 16 Oregon, at 18-over 882, two shots behind UCLA.

   It was another 17 shots back to Oregon’s cross-state and Pac-12 rival Oregon State, ranked 35^th, in fourth place at 35-over 899. The Beavers carded their best round of the tournament, a 5-over 293, in Tuesday’s final round.

   No. 48 Washington made it five Pac-12 teams among the top six in the 12-team field as the Huskies finished in sixth place, nine shots behind Oregon State at 44-over 908. Washington had started strong with an 8-over 296, but fell back with a 302 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 310 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Garvey, Abdulghany and Nam all finished among the top eight to lead the way for Southern Cal, the reigning Pac-12 champion.

   After struggling a little with an opening-round 75, Garvey contributed a 3-under 69 to the Trojans’ decisive second-round surge before matching par in Tuesday’s final round with a 72 to finish alone in fifth place in the individual standings at even-par 216.

   Abdulghany carded a pair of 1-under 71s in Monday’s double-round before closing with a 77 to finish three shots behind Garvey in sixth place at 3-over 219.

   Nam struggled to an opening-round 77, but came up huge by matching Garvey’s 3-under 69 in Monday afternoon’s second round. Nam finished up with a 3-over 75 that left her in a three-way tie for eighth place at 5-over 221.

   Corpuz is thought of highly enough to have been invited to audition for the United States Curtis Cup team in a practice session held at Loblolly in Hobe Sound, Fla. in December. After struggling in the opening round with a 77, Corpuz put together clutch rounds of 1-over 73 in Monday afternoon’s second round and an even-par 72 in Tuesday’s final round for a 6-over 222 that left her in the group tied for 11^th place.

   Great players come and go, even legendary coaches seek a new challenge somewhere else, but the attitude doesn’t seem to change for the Women of Troy.

   “I talked to Justin (Silverstein) about it and there were two ways we could look at it,” Garvey told the Southern California website. “We could play the victim or step up to the challenge. So, I think our mindset was huge. We were ready to take on the challenge and win.”

   The Trojans were coming off a team victory in the Rebel Beach Showdown at Spanish Trail Country Club in Las Vegas, Ruffels winning the individual crown. Southern Cal had opened the spring portion of the 2019-’20 season with a solid runnerup finish to reigning national champion Duke in an elite field at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.

   The Trojans have never missed match play since the NCAA Championship added that extra layer in 2015. Looks like they’re planning to be among the final eight still standing after stroke play this spring at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   UCLA suffered a pretty significant offseason loss when Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand headed for the Symetra Tour. But give Tavatanakit credit. She played out her sophomore season, winning the individual title in the East Lansing Regional and leading to Bruins to a spot in the team competition at The Blessings.

   A lot of college kids don’t want to wait until it’s almost summer to start their first pro campaign. Tavatanakit won three times on the Symetra Tour and easily qualified for the LPGA Tour as the second-leading money-winner in the Volvik Race for the Card.

   But they didn’t skip a beat in Westwood as the departure of Tavatanakit was considerably eased with the arrival of two of the top junior players in Europe and both figured prominently in the Bruins’ runnerup finish as the host team.

   Emma Spitz of Austria and No. 22 in the WAGR fired a final round of 3-under 69 to share medalist honors with Northwestern’s Sim at 5-under 211. Spitz had opened with a pair of 1-under 71s in Monday’s double-round.

   Sim had tied the tournament record by firing a 5-under 67 in Monday’s opening round and held a six-shot lead over the rest of the field after adding a 3-under 69 in the afternoon. Sim cooled off with a final-round 75 that enabled Spitz to catch her for a share of the individual title.

   The San Luis Obispo layout wasn’t yielding a lot of low scores and Spitz and Sim finished three shots clear of the rest of the field.

   Spitz’s fellow freshman star, Emilie Paltrinieri of Italy and No. 14 in the Women’s WAGR, gave the Bruins two of the top three finishers in the individual standings as she closed with a solid 3-under 69 to end up alone in third place at 2-under 214. Paltrinieri had registered scores of 73 and even-par 72 in Monday’s double-round.

   Oregon’s Briana Chacon, a freshman from Whittier, Calif., matched that tournament record with a sparkling 5-under 67 in Tuesday’s final round as she zoomed up the leaderboard to finish in fourth place at 1-under 215.

   And the list of top freshmen at UCLA from Europe doesn’t stop at Spitz and Paltrinieri. Annabel Wilson of Northern Ireland competed as an individual and finished alone in seventh place, a shot behind Southern Cal’s Abdulghany at 4-over 220. After opening with a 74, Wilson posted a 1-under 71 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 75.

   Joining Southern Cal’s Nam in the trio tied for eighth place at 5-over 221 were Northwestern’s Brooke Riley, a senior from Manteca, Calif., and Pepperdine’s Momoka Kobori, a senior form New Zealand.

   Riley seems quite at home on golf courses in her native California. Last spring she captured the individual crown and led the Wildcats to the team title in the Silverado Showdown at the Silverado Resort & Spa in wine country in Napa.

   After opening with a 75, Riley carded a pair of 1-over 73s to land at 5-over. Kobori matched par in the final round with a 72 to join the group at 221.