Arkansas had surged to No. 2 in the Scoreboard, presented by clippd, rankings by the midseason pause in the wraparound 2024-2025 season on the strength of the Razorbacks’ three straight team titles to close out the fall.
Arkansas, a member of the ultra-competitive Southeastern Conference, picked up right where it left off in the fall, closing with a sizzling 15-under-par 273 to cruise to a 13-shot victory over SEC rivals Vanderbilt and Mississippi as the Razorbacks kicked off the spring portion of their schedule at the Puerto Rico Classic, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
Arkansas was led by Maria Jose Marin, a sophomore from Colombia and No. 6 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) who captured the individual crown and Clarisa Temelo, a freshman from Mexico who fueled the Razorbacks’ final-round surge with a sizzling 6-under 66 that left her in third place in the individual standings.
Arkansas was still shaking off the cobwebs a little when it opened with a 4-over 292 over the 6,305-yard, par-72 Grand Reserve layout. The Razorbacks bounced back with an 8-under 280 in Monday’s second round that left them seven shots behind Vanderbilt and two shots behind Ole Miss going into Tuesday’s final round.
That’s when Arkansas hit the go button, its 15-under 273 in the final round the Razorbacks’ best single round since 2018, as they ended up with a 19-under 845 total.
Arkansas had concluded the fall portion of its schedule with consecutive wins at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational on its home course, the Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark., the Dale McNamara Invitational at Cedar Ridge Country Club in Broken Arrow, Okla. and the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, a match-play event at Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club in Nicholls Hills, Okla., the Razorbacks defeating Big Ten power Oregon, 3-2, in the final.
Vanderbilt, ranked 15th by Scoreboard, opened with a solid 5-under 283 and added a 6-under 282 in Monday’s second round. The Commodores’ 11-under total gave them a five-shot edge over Ole Miss going into the final round.
Vanderbilt, however, struggled in Tuesday’s final round, closing with a 5-over 293 that left the Commodores in a tie for second place with Ole Miss at 6-under 858.
Ole Miss, No. 19 in the Scoreboard rankings, opened with a solid 4-under 284 and added a 2-under 286 in Monday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 288 to catch Vanderbilt for a share of second place.
All three of those top-three finishers at Grand Reserve earned a trip to the NCAA Championship at La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. last spring, Arkansas capturing the team crown in the Las Vegas Regional as a two seed, Ole Miss claiming the team title in the Bermuda Run Regional as a three seed and Vanderbilt finishing in fourth place as a four seed at the Bryan Regional, but none of the three could get it going at La Costa, each falling short of a spot in the match-play bracket.
Marin, the individual champion on Arkansas’ home course in the Blessings Collegiate Invitational, led the way for Arkansas in the Puerto Rico Classic as she followed up a 1-under 71 in the opening round with back-to-back 4-under 68s in the final two rounds to capture her second individual title of the season with a 9-under 207 total.
LSU’s Rocio Tejedo, a freshman from Spain and No. 37 in the Women’s WAGR, was Marin’s closest pursuer as she was tied for second place in the individual standings following an opening round of 4-under 68.
Tejedo matched par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a solid 3-under 69 that left her two shots behind Marin with a 7-under 209 total.
Marin’s teammate Temelo was the low Razorback in the final round with her spectacular 6-under 66 that enabled her to end up in third place, a shot behind Tejedo with a 6-under 210.
Temelo is just the latest player to come through the Mexican pipeline to Arkansas, dating back to Gaby Lopez and Maria Fassi, both of whom you can find playing on the LPGA Tour these days. Temelo opened with a 2-over 73 at Grand Reserve and added a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round before going off in the final round.
A couple of Big Ten rivals, Northwestern, No. 9 in the Scoreboard rankings, and Michigan State, No. 22 in the Scoreboard rankings, accounted for the next two spots in the team standings at Grand Reserve, the Wildcats finishing three shots behind Ole Miss in fourth place with a 3-under 861 total and the Spartans another five shots behind Northwestern in fifth with a 2-over 866 total.
After opening with a 2-over 290, Northwestern posted a solid 5-under 283 in Monday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 288.
Northwestern and Michigan State both advanced to the NCAA Championship at La Costa out of the East Lansing Regional, the host Spartans finishing in third place as a five seed and the Wildcats ending up fourth as a two seed. Neither was able to earn a spot in the match-play bracket at La Costa.
Northwestern was led by the pair of Ashley Yun, a sophomore from West Covina, Calif., and Lauryn Nguyen, a senior from Seattle, Wash., as they finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively, in the individual standings.
After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Yun recorded a 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round before closing with a solid 3-under 69 to finish in fourth place, a shot behind Arkansas’ Temelo with a 5-under 211 total. Nguyen had the lead going into the final round after she registered back-to-back 3-under 69s in the first two rounds before closing with a 2-over 74 to finish a shot behind her teammate Yun in fifth place with a 4-under 212 total.
A couple of SEC powers, Auburn, No. 20 in the Scoreboard rankings, and LSU, No. 16 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished in a tie for sixth place at Grand Reserve, each landing on 6-over 870.
The Plains Tigers and the Bayou Tigers marched in lockstep in the Puerto Rico Classic, each rattling off three straight 2-over 290s to finish tied at 6-over.
Auburn and LSU both advanced to the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at La Costa last spring before falling in the quarterfinals, the Plains Tigers to eventual national champion Stanford and the Bayou Tigers to Oregon.
Host Purdue, another Big Ten power, finished in 10th place in the 18-team field with a 14-over 878 total. The Boilermakers, No. 33 in the Scoreboard rankings, struggled in the opening round with a 300, but bounced back with a couple of back-to-back 1-over 289s.
Purdue advanced to the NCAA Championship last spring by finishing in second place as a six seed in the Las Vegas Regional, but failed to earn a spot in the match-play bracket at La Costa.
Backing up Marin and Temelo for Arkansas were two players, Reagan Zibilski, a junior from Springfield, Mo., and Kendall Todd, a senior from Goodyear, Ariz. and No. 46 in the Women’s WAGR, who were part of a quartet tied for seventh place in the individual standings at 2-under 214. That gave the Razorbacks four finishers among the top seven.
After opening with a 2-over 74, Zibilski carded a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round before contributing a 3-under 69 to the fast finish by Arkansas in the final round. Todd also opened with a 2-over 74 before posting back-to-back 2-under 70s in the final two rounds.
There was almost an all-Arkansas U.S. Women’s Amateur final last summer at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. as Marin and Todd reached the semifinals.
Marin was forced to concede her semifinal match with Asterisk Talley on the 15th hole after suffering an injury to her left leg. Todd gave eventual winner Rianne Malixi all she wanted before falling, 1-up, in the other semifinal.
Rounding out the Arkansas lineup in the Puerto Rico Classic was Cory Lopez, a senior from Mexico who finished in a tie for 76th place with a 227 total. After opening with a 3-over 75, Lopez added a 1-over 73 in Monday’s second round before struggling in the final round with a 79.
Georgia Southern Kelsey Chen, a freshman from China, finished a shot behind Northwestern’s Nguyen in sixth place with a 3-under 213 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Chen recorded a 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 1-under 71.
Joining Arkansas’ Zibilski and Todd in the foursome tied for seventh place at 2-under were Purdue’s Jasmine Kahler, a sophomore from Carlsbad, Calif., and Michigan State’s Taylor Kehoe, a junior from Canada.
After opening with a 2-over 74, Kahler registered a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round before closing with a solid 3-under 69. After opening with a 1-over 73, Kehoe signed for a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 2-under 70.
The two women who dueled throughout the final round of last summer’s Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur Championship at Waynesborough Country Club, Vanderbilt freshman Angelina Tolentino, a product of Lenape High in South Jersey, and Purdue senior Natasha Kiel, a New Hope resident who starred scholastically at George School, were in the field in the Puerto Rico Classic.
Tolentino, who edged Kiel by a shot to claim the title in the Pennsylvania Women’s Am, finished in the group tied for 32nd place with a 3-over 219 total. After opening with a 4-over 76, Tolentino posted a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 72.
I snuck a mention about Tolentino in my year-end post, but it bears repeating that she made a birdie on the 18th hole at the iconic Pebble Beach Golf Links on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula to give the Commodores the team title in the Carmel Cup, their season opener Labor Day weekend. Pretty strong as college debuts go.
Kiel sandwiched a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 5-over 77s as she finished in the group tied for 61st place for Purdue with a 225 total.
Another Jersey girl, Northwestern freshman Megan Meng, a Pennington, N.J. resident who starred scholastically at Hopewell Valley Central, competed in the Puerto Rico Classic as an individual and found herself on the leaderboard following an opening round of 3-under 69.
Meng fell back the rest of the way with a pair of 5-over 77 as she finished in the group tied for 51st place with a 7-over 223 total.
I focused on Meng in a post on the Citrus Golf Trail Ladies Invitational, which wrapped up on New Year’s Eve at the Sun ’n Lake Golf Club’s Deer Run Course in Sebring, Fla., where she finished in a tie for seventh place
It’s not easy to crack the lineup at Northwestern as a freshman, but Meng, who earned a spot in the match-play bracket in last summer’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, Calif., made it clear that she intends to compete for one of those spots.
Tolentino
Northwestern
No comments:
Post a Comment