The depth that has made Kent State, No. 5 in the latest Golfstat
rankings, one of the most dangerous teams in the country during the wraparound
2019-2020 season was on display again this week as the Golden Flashes went low
in the final round to claim a seven-shot victory in the ICON Invitational,
hosted by Houston at The Woodlands Country Club’s Tournament Course in The
Woodlands, Texas.
Kent State, under first-year coach Lisa Strom, the 1994 PIAA
champion as a senior at Lansdale Catholic, finished up with an 11-under-par 277
over the testy 6,392-yard, par-72 Tournament Course layout Tuesday to claim its
fifth tournament title of the season and top a field that included the No. 1
team in the country in Texas.
Kent State had opened with scores of 2-over 290 and 1-under
287 in Monday’s double-round and shared the lead after 36 holes with Big Ten
power Purdue, probably a little underrated at No. 51, at 1-over 577.
But with Caley McGinty, a freshman from England, veteran
senior Pimnipa Panthong of Thailand and No. 30 in the Women’s World Amateur
Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Chloe Salort, a junior from France, all posting
sub-par rounds in Tuesday’s final round, the Flashes pulled away for a 10-under
854 total.
Purdue closed with a solid 4-under 284, but had to settle
for runnerup honors at 3-under 861. The Boilermakers were solid in Monday’s
double-round, opening with a 1-over 289 and matching par in the second round
with a 288.
No. 34 Texas A&M, under legendary former Southern
California coach Andrea Gaston, closed strong with a 5-under 283 to finish
third with an even-par 864 total. The Aggies are out of the tough Southeastern
Conference.
The top-ranked Longhorns, the reigning three-time Big 12
champions, closed with a 1-under 287 to finish two shots behind Texas A&M
at 2-over 866. Texas, which reached match play in last spring’s NCAA
Championship at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark., was playing with
a lineup that did not include Kaitlyn Papp, a junior home girl from Austin,
Texas who is No. 10 in the Women’s WAGR.
Texas is talented enough that it’s possible Papp simply failed
to survive a team qualifier or she might be injured or ill. This isn’t the NFL.
There are no injury reports in women’s college golf.
Texas’ Big 12 rival, TCU, ranked 54th, was
another six shots behind the Longhorns in fifth place in the 14-team field at
8-over 872. The Horned Frogs fired a 6-under 282 in Monday afternoon’s second
round that left them one shot out of the team lead before falling back with a
6-over 294 in Tuesday’s final round.
McGinty led the way for Kent State as she contributed a
4-under 68 to the Flashes’ scorching final round to finish alone in third place
in the individual standings at 5-under 211. McGinty had opened with a 3-under
69 before backing off a little with a 2-over 74 in Monday afternoon’s second
round.
Panthong was a shot behind McGinty as she also fired a
finishing 4-under 68 to end up alone in fourth place at 4-under 212. Panthong
had added a 2-under 70 to her opening-round 74 in Monday’s double-round.
Salort fired a 3-under 69 in Tuesday’s final round to finish
a shot behind Panthong in a tie for fifth place at 3-under 213. Salort had
matched par with a pair of 72s in each of Monday’s rounds.
The other of Kent State’s steady senior leaders, Karoline
Stormo of Norway and No. 7 in the Women’s WAGR, and Kory Nielsen, a junior home
girl from Kent, Ohio, backed up their teammates by each matching par in the
final round with 72s.
It was Stormo’s second straight 72 after she had opened with
a 75 and left her in the group tied for 20th place at 3-over 219.
Nielsen had signed for an opening-round 77 before adding a 1-over 73 in Monday
afternoon’s second round that was a counter for the Flashes as she finished
among the group tied for 39th place at 6-over 222.
Tulsa’s Lorena Tseng, a sophomore from Taiwan, matched the
low round of the tournament, a sparkling 5-under 67, in Tuesday’s final round
to capture the individual title with a 7-under 209 total. Tseng had matched par
in the opening round with a 72 and added a 2-under 70 that left her in a group
of four players tied for second, two shots behind Texas’ Sophie Guo, a freshman
from Orlando, Fla. and No. 48 in the Women’s WAGR, after Monday’s double-round.
Tseng, whose round began at the seventh hole, pulled away
from the pack with six birdies in Tuesday’s final round, five of which came in
an eight-hole stretch from the 12th through the first holes, as she
earned her second collegiate victory.
Purdue’s Sifat Sagoo, a freshman from India, was also in
that group tied for second after she posted a pair of 1-under 71s in Monday’s
double-round. She closed with a 4-under 68 to finish alone in second place at
6-under 210, a shot behind Tseng.
Guo had posted a pair of 2-under 70s in Monday’s
double-round to take a two-shot lead into the final round, but fell back a
little with a 1-over 73 in Tuesday’s final round to get a share of fifth place
with Kent State’s Salort at 3-under 213.
Texas Tech’s Sofia Garcia, a junior from Paraguay and No. 17
in the Women’s WAGR, matched Tseng for the low round of the tournament with her
final round of 6-under 67 that gave her a share of seventh place with TCU’s
Sabrina Iqbal, a sophomore from San Jose, Calif., at 2-under 214.
Garcia started slowly with a 4-over 76 before adding a
1-under 71 in Monday afternoon’s second round. Iqbal joined the group tied for
second place through two rounds with a 3-under 69 in Monday afternoon’s second
round before matching par in the final round with a 72.
Virginia Tech’s Emily Mahar, a junior from Australia, was
also in the group tied for second through two rounds after adding a 2-under 70
to her opening-round 72. She fell back a little with a 1-over 73 in the final
round to finish in a tie for ninth place with Texas A&M’s Amber Park, a
junior from Allen, Texas, and Purdue’s Kan Bunnabodee, a freshman from
Thailand, at 1-under 215.
Park matched par in the second round with a 72 after opening
with a 74 and then finished strong with a 3-under 69 to get to 1-under.
Bunnabodee started slowly with a 75 before firing a sparkling 4-under 68 in
Monday afternoon’s second round. Bunnabodee closed by matching par with a 72.
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