Campbell takes team crown in Briar's Creek Invitational by 11 shots; Boston College's Irlbacher the individual champion

    Reigning Big South champion Campbell, behind three players who finished among the top six in the individual standings, cruised to an impressive 11-shot victory in the Briar’s Creek Invitational, which wrapped up Tuesday at The Golf Club at Briar’s Creek in Johns Island, S.C.

   The Camels took control of the team race right from the start, posting a 7-under-par 281 in Monday’s opening round over the 6,116-yard, par-72 Briar’s Creek layout, a Rees Jones design. The double round scheduled for Monday wasn’t quite completed when darkness fell. Campbell finished off an even-par 288 Tuesday morning and then closed with a 4-under 284 to finish with an 11-under 853 total. The Camels were the only team to finish under par.

   The victory enabled Campbell to jump from No. 47 to No. 33 in the Golfstat rankings posted following the completion of the Briar’s Creek Invitational.

   Big Ten power Michigan was only three shots behind Campbell following an opening round of 4-under 284, but the Wolverines fell eight behind the Camels with a 5-over 293 in the second round. Michigan closed with a solid 1-under 287 that left it in second place, 11 shots behind Campbell with an even-par 864 total.

   Michigan, which advanced to last spring’s NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. by finishing in a tie for fifth place as a seven seed in the Louisville Regional, moved up a spot in the Golfstat rankings from No. 11 to No. 10 with its runnerup finish in the Briars Creek.

   Host College of Charleston finished the week ranked No. 60 after the Cougars ended up alone in third place, eight shots behind Michigan with an 8-over 872 total. College of Charleston opened with a 5-over 293, but struggled to a 300 in the second round. The Cougars, however, ripped off the best team round of the tournament, a 9-under 279, in Tuesday’s final round to surge up the team leaderboard.

   College of Charleston was the runnerup in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship last spring at the Grandover Resort’s East Course in Greensboro, N.C.

   Central Florida, an American Athletic Conference entry, was another seven shots behind College of Charleston in fourth place with a 15-over 879 total. After opening with a 295, the Knights, who moved up a spot in the Golfstat rankings from No. 28 to No. 27 in the aftermath of the Briar’s Creek, added back-to-back 4-over 292s in the final two rounds.

   Boston College, an Atlantic Coast Conference entry, finished two shots behind UCF in fifth place with a 17-over 881 total behind individual champion Nathalie Irlbacher, a senior from Germany. The Eagles shaved 21 shots off their opening-round 304 with a 5-under 283 in the second round as Irlbacher went off with a sizzling 7-under 65. No. 68 Boston College finished up with a 6-over 294.

   After opening with a 2-over 74, Irlbacher offset a lone bogey with eight birdies in her second-round gem to take control of the individual chase. Irlbacher matched par in the final round with a 72 to hold off a trio of players by a shot with a 5-under 211 total for her second individual victory of the wraparound 2021-2022 season.

   Illinois, another Big Ten entry, was two shots behind Boston College in sixth place in the 17-team field with a 19-over 883 total. The Fighting Illini, who fell back two spots in the Golfstat rankings from No. 26 to No. 28, bounced back from an opening-round 302 with a 1-under 287 in the second round before finishing up with a 6-over 294.

   No. 89 Penn State finished in a tie for ninth place with another AAC entry, East Carolina, each landing on 31-over 895. The Nittany Lions opened with a 6-over 294, but fell back a little with a 302 in the second round before closing with a 299.

   Penn State finished behind Big Ten rivals Michigan and Illinois, but ahead of four other conference foes as Nebraska ended up in a tie for 11^th place (35-over 899), Wisconsin and Minnesota were tied for 14^th (37-over 901) and Indiana was last of 17 teams in the field (49-over 913).

   Campbell was led by Emily Hawkins, a senior from Lexington, N.C. who was part of the three-way tie for second place, a shot behind the winner, BC’s Irlbacher, at 4-under 212. Hawkins sandwiched a 2-under 70 in the second round with a pair of 1-under 71s.

   Sonna Lundmark, a sophomore from Sweden, backed up Hawkins for the Camels as she was alone in fifth place, two shots behind her teammate with a 2-under 214 total. After opening with a 71, Lundmark fell back a little with a 74 in the second round before closing with the low score of the final round for the Camels with a 3-under 69.

   Anna Nordfors, a senior from Sweden, gave Campbell a third finisher among the top six as she contributed a 3-under 69 to the Camels’ fast start, matched par in the second round with a 72 and closed with a 74 to end up in a tie for sixth place at 1-under 215.

   Patricia Garre Munoz, a junior from Spain, bounced back from an opening-round 77 by matching par in the second round with a 72 before contributing a 2-under 70 to Campbell’s solid finish as she landed in the group tied for 15^th place with a 3-over 219.

   Rounding out the Campbell lineup was Torita Arejola, a senior from the Philippines who started strong with a 2-under 70, but struggled a little after that with a 76 in the second round and a final-round 78 that left her in a tie for 34^th place at 8-over 224.

   Joining Campbell’s Hawkins in the trio tied for second place, a shot behind BC’s Irlbacher at 4-under 212 were College of Charleston’s Emma Schimpf, a freshman from Daniel Island, S.C., and Michigan’s Ashley Lau, a senior from Malaysia.

   Schimpf added a 73 to her opening round of 2-under 70 before matching the best score turned in in the final round, a 3-under 69, to get it to 4-under. Lau had the best round in Monday morning’s opening round, a 4-under 68, but cooled off in the second round with a 74 before finishing up with a 2-under 70 to get her share of second place.

   Joining Campbell’s Nordfors in a tie for sixth place at 215, a shot behind Campbell’s Lundmark, was North Carolina State’s Isabel Amezcua, a sophomore from Mexico. Amezcua was only two shots behind BC’s Irlbacher going into Tuesday’s final round as she matched par in the second round with a 72 after opening with a solid 3-under 69. Amezcua cooled off a little in the final round with a 74.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the individual standings were three players tied for eighth place at even-par 216, including Old Dominion’s Jana Melichova, a senior from the Czech Republic and No. 99 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, Illinois’ Isabel Sy, a sophomore from San Gabriel, Calif., and UCF’s Jess Baker, a sophomore from England.

   Melichova registered back-to-back 73s in the first two rounds before finishing up with a 2-under 70. Sy and Baker had identical splits as each bounced back from an opening-round 75 with a solid 3-under 69 in the second round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Sarah Willis, Penn State’s veteran senior from Eaton, Ohio, led the way for the Nittany Lions as she closed with a 1-over 73 after posting back-to-back 74s in the first two rounds to join the group tied for 24^th place with a 5-over 221 total.

   Mathilde Delavallade, a junior from France, and Isha Dhruva, a junior from Katy, Texas, backed up Willis as both finished among the group tied for 36^th place at 9-over 225. After opening with a 1-over 73, Delavallade added back-to-back 76s in the final two rounds. Dhruva got a little better each round, adding a 75 to her opening-round 76 before closing with a 2-over 74.

   Drew Nienhaus, a freshman from St. Louis, Mo., opened with Penn State’s best round of the tournament, a 1-under 71, but couldn’t sustain her momentum, adding a 77 in the second round before closing with an 80 that left her in the group tied for 56^th place with a 12-over 228 total.

   Redshirt junior Taylor Waller, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier in 2016 as a junior at Canon-McMillan, rounded out the Penn State lineup as she finished among the group tied for 82^nd place with a 235 total. Waller struggled in the opening round with an 81, but got a little better after that, adding a 78 in the second round before finishing up with a 76.