Ohma's runnerup finish leads Baylor to team crown in PDI Intercollegiate at Eagle Creek

 

   Playing a little catch-up from the PDI Intercollegiate, previously known as the UCF Challenge, which teed off the first week of February. It was the spring opener for everybody involved, including the Penn State women’s team that I like to keep half-an-eye on …

   The UCF Challenge, hosted by the University of Central Florida, has always been one of the events that marks the beginning of the second half of the wraparound women’s college golf season.

   It’s aways a good field and Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando was, as always, a challenging venue for the newly-reminted PDI Intercollegiate.

   It was Big 12 power Baylor that came out swinging at Eagle Creek, going wire to wire to outlast a couple of perennial Atlantic Coast Conference powers in Duke and North Carolina and claim the team crown.

   Behind individual runnerup Silje Ohma, a junior from Norway, Baylor jumped in front with an opening round of 11-under 277 over the 6,367-yard, par-72 Eagle Creek layout. The Bears were even a little better in the second round with a 14-under 274, the low team round of the tournament, before closing with a 5-under 283 for a 30-under 834 total. It was the second-lowest total in relation to par in program history.

   Baylor began the week of the PDI Intercollegiate at No. 27 in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings that were released at the end of college golf’s fall campaign. Despite the win, the Bears dropped two spots to No. 29 in the Scoreboard rankings released last week following a flurry of early-spring returns.

   The Big 12 lost a couple of solid programs in Texas and Oklahoma to the Southeastern Conference, but gained a couple of teams in Arizona and Arizona State from the departed Pac-12 that each own multiple national championships.

   Ohma was solid throughout as she opened with a 3-under 69 and contributed a sparkling 6-under 66 to Baylor’s second-round surge. Ohma closed with a 1-under 71 for a 10-under 206 total.

   Baylor earned a trip to last spring’s NCAA Championship at the La Costa Spa & Resort with a solid third-place finish as a seven seed in the Las Vegas Regional, but was unable to advance to the match-play bracket.

   There was no catching PDI Intercollegiate individual champion Lauren Clark, a senior at Kansas, but playing close to her Orlando roots. After adding a 5-under 67 in the second round to her sparkling opening round of 6-under 66, Clark took a two-shot lead over Ohma and USF’s Cherry Marley, a freshman from England, into the final round.

   Clark finished with a solid 4-under 68 to capture her first career individual collegiate victory with a 15-under 201 total.

   Duke stayed right on Baylor’s heels the entire time as the Blue Devils trailed the Bears by only three shots following an opening round of 8-under 280 and were still only five back going into the final round after a solid 10-under 278 in the second round.

   Duke closed with another solid 10-under 278 in the final round to end up in second place, just two shots behind Baylor, with a 28-under 836 total.

   The ACC gained the reigning national champion when PAC-12 refugee Stanford joined the conference. The Dookies entered the PDI Intercollegiate at No. 18 in the Scoreboard and have lost a couple of spots back to No. 20 since then.

   Duke earned a trip to last spring’s NCAA Championship with a runnerup finish in the Cle Elum Regional, but the Blue Devils were unable to earn a spot in the match-play bracket at La Costa.

   It was four shots back to a resurgent North Carolina in third place in the PDI Intercollegiate as the Tar Heels closed with a sparkling 11-under 277 that gave them a 24-under 840 total. North Carolina had opened with a 5-under 283 before adding an 8-under 280 in the second round.

   North Carolina was led by Helen Yeung, a freshman from Clarksville, Md. who was one of four players that finished in a tie for third place at 9-under 207, a shot behind Baylor’s Ohma.

   After opening with a 2-under 70, Yeung added a 3-under 69 in the second round before closing with her best round of the tournament, a 4-under 68.

   North Carolina had entered the week of the PDI Intercollegiate at No. 13 in the Scoreboard rankings and has fallen back a couple of spots to No. 15 in the most recent rankings.

   North Carolina booked its first trip to the NCAA Championship since 2017 when it finished in third place as a five seed in the Auburn Regional last spring. The Tar Heels were unable to crack the top eight in the stroke-play qualifying for match play at La Costa.

   Reigning SEC champion Mississippi State and host UCF, a Big 12 entry, finished in a tie for fourth place, each ending up a shot behind North Carolina at 23-under 841.

   After opening with a 5-under 283, the Bulldogs added 7-under 281 in the second round before finishing up strong with a sparkling 11-under 277. Mississippi State entered the spring portion of its schedule at No. 10 in the Scoreboard rankings, but have dropped three spots to No. 13 in the latest rankings.

   Mississippi State was playing its first event since the departure of Julia Lopez Ramirez, one of the finest players in the history of the program who earned her LPGA Tour card in Final Qualifying in December.

   Mississippi State was led at Eagle Creek by junior Izzy Pellot, another Orlando native, as she also finished among the quartet tied for third place at 9-under. Pellot added a 1-under 71 to her opening round of 3-under 69 before helping fuel the Bulldogs’ final-round surge with a sparkling 5-under 67.

   UCF was solid in its home event as the Knights added a sparkling 12-under 276 in the second round to their opening round of 4-under 284 before closing with a 7-under 281. UCF’s Scoreboard ranking has popped up a couple of spots from No. 36 to No. 34 in the aftermath of the PDI Intercollegiate.

   Mississippi State and UCF crossed paths in the last spring’s Bermuda Run Regional, the Bulldogs advancing to the NCAA Championship by finishing in fourth place as the four seed and the Knights failing to advance as a five seed. Mississippi State was unable to earn a spot in the match-play bracket at La Costa.

   Behind individual champion Clark, Kansas, another Big 12 entry, finished two shots behind Mississippi State and UCF in sixth place with a 21-under 843 total.

   After opening with a 4-under 284, the Jayhawks posted a solid 10-under 278 in the second round before closing with a 7-under 281. Kansas had entered the PDI Intercollegiate at No. 24 in the Scoreboard rankings and has dropped two spots to No. 26 since then.

   Kansas failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as a nine seed in the Cle Elum Regional last spring.

   It was a decent opening act for the spring portion of the wraparound 2024-2025 season for Penn State, which competes in the Big Ten, as the Nittany Lions finished in 11^th place in the tough 17-team field with a 3-under 861 total.

   Penn State opened with a 2-under 286 and posted a 2-over 290 in the second round before closing with its best round of the tournament, a 3-under 285.

   Backing up Ohma for Baylor was Sera Hasegawa, a senior from Japan who finished among a large group of players tied for 11^th place at 7-under 209. Hasegawa was a steady force for the Bears, following up an opening round of 3-under 69 with back-to-back 2-under 70s in the final two rounds.

   Bridget Boczar, a junior from Canton, Mich., gave Baylor a third finisher inside the top 18 as she ended up in the group tied for 18^th place at 6-under 210. Boczar got off to a strong start, adding a 4-under 68 in the second round to her opening-round 69 before closing with a 1-over 73.

   Malena Castro, a freshman from Argentina, finished among the group tied for 30^th place for Baylor at 3-under 213 as she registered back-to-back steady 2-under 70s in the first two rounds before closing with a 1-over 73.

   Rounding out the Baylor lineup was BaiMai Seema, a senior from Thailand who closed with a flashy 3-under 69 to land in the group tied for 36^th place at 2-under 214. Seema had opened with a 2-under 70 before stumbling a little in the second round with a 3-over 75.

   Baylor also got a couple of decent showings from two players who competed as individuals.

   Jenny Lee, a freshman from South Korea, joined her teammate Seema in the group tied for 36^th place at 2-under as Lee opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 1-over 73 in the second round before closing with a solid 1-under 71.

   Baylor’s Mallory Matthews, a junior from Hondo, Texas, matched par in the second round with a 72, sandwiching that with a pair of 1-over 73s in the first and final rounds, as she finished in the group tied for 57^th place with a 2-over 218 total.

   Joining Mississippi State’s Pellot and North Carolina’s Yeung in the quartet tied for third place at 9-under were USF’s Marley and Nebraska’s Danica Lundgren, a freshman from Austin, Texas.

   Marley had grabbed the individual lead with her sizzling opening round of 7-under 65. She backed off a little with a 2-under 70 in the second round, but still trailed Clark, the eventual winner, by only two shots heading into the final round. Marley matched par in the final round with a 72, but still held on for her piece of third place.

   Lundgren got off to a good start with a 4-under 68 in the opening round and matched par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a sparkling 5-under 67.

   A pair of Dookies, Andie Smith, a junior from Hobe Sound, Fla. and No. 62 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Katie Li, a sophomore from Basking Ridge, N.J. and No. 79 in the Women’s WAGR, were among a group of four players that rounded out the top 10 in the PDI Intercollegiate individual standings by finishing in a tie for seventh place at 8-under 208.

   Smith matched par in the second round with a 72 and sandwiched that with a pair of 4-under 68s in the first and final rounds. Li posted back-to-back 4-under 68s in the first two rounds before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Rounding out the foursome tied at 8-under were Yeung’s North Carolina teammate Megan Streicher, a junior from South Africa and No. 47 in the Women’s WAGR, and Marley’s USF teammate Leonor Medeiros, a senior from Portugal.

   After opening with a 2-under 70, Streicher rattled off back-to-back 3-under 69s in the final two rounds. Medeiros sandwiched a 2-under 70 in the second round with a pair of 3-under 69s.

   The Duke lineup included senior Rylie Heflin, the Avondale, Chester County native who starred scholastically at Tower Hill School in Delaware.

   Pretty nice showing for Heflin as she finished in the group tied for 25^th place with a 4-under 212 total. Heflin bounced back from her opening round of 1-over 73 with a sparkling 4-under 68 in the second round before closing with a 1-under 71.

   Leading the way for Penn State was senior Michelle Cox, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Emmaus who finished among the large group tied for 11^th place at 7-under 209.

   Cox opened strong, signing for a 4-under 68 in the opening round. She stumbled a little in the second round with a 1-over 73 before recovering with another 4-under 68 in the final round. Cox looks like she’s gearing up for a solid spring of her senior season.

   Another senior, Drew Nienhaus of St. Louis, Mo., had a solid showing at Eagle Creek, closing with a sizzling 6-under 66 to finish among the trio tied for 22^nd place at 5-under 211. Nienhaus, coming off a solid fall campaign, had opened with a 1-over 73 before matching par in the second round with a 72.

   Freshman Jiratchaya Jiratthitinun of Thailand, probably the best of a talented international group recruited to Penn State by second-year-head coach Kristen Simpson, struggled a little in the PDI Intercollegiate. Coming off a solid start to her college career in the fall, Jiratthitinun ended up in the group tied for 69^th place at 6-over 222.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Jiratthitinun registered back-to-back 3-over 75s in the final two rounds.

   Jiratthitinun was joined at 6-over by her Penn State teammate Myranda Quinton, a junior from Canada who added a solid 2-under 70 in the second round to her opening round of 3-over 75 before struggling a little in a final-round 77.

   Rounding out the Penn State lineup was another freshman, Lauren Thompstone of France, who finished among the trio tied for 80^th place with a 9-over 225 total. After opening with a 1-over 73, Thompstone registered back-to-back 4-over 76s in the final two rounds.

   Another Penn State veteran, Jami Morris, a senior from Chagrin Farms, Ohio, competed as an individual and finished in the group tied for 72^nd place with a 7-over 223 total. Morris opened with a solid 1-under 71, but struggled to a 6-over 78 in the second round before closing with a 74.