With Lottie Woad, the No. 1 player in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Mirabel Ting, No. 3 in the Women’s WAGR, delivering at the top of the lineup, Florida State claimed a three-shot victory over Atlantic Coast Conference rival Wake Forest in the Moon Golf Invitational, which wrapped up Tuesday at Suntree Country Club in Melbourne, Fla.
Woad, a junior from England, lost in a playoff to South Carolina’s Eila Gilitsky, a freshman from Thailand and No. 19 in the Women’s WAGR, for the individual crown while Ting, a junior from Malaysia, finished among a group of four players tied for sixth place in the individual standings, to lead the way for the Seminoles, No. 7 in the latest Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings.
The conditions and the course setup appeared to be the most challenging in Sunday’s opening round and Florida State handled the conditions better than any other team, carding a 2-under-par 286 over the 6,467-yard, par-72 Suntree layout to take a lead the Seminoles never surrendered.
Florida State added a 1-under 287 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 1-over 289 for a 2-under 862 total.
It was the third straight tournament title for Florida State, which closed the fall portion of the wraparound 2024-2025 season with a win in the always tough Landfall Tradition at the Country Club at Landfall in Wilmington, N.C. behind an individual victory for Woad and then opened the spring portion of its schedule by taking the crown in the Collegiate Invitational at Guadalajara Country Club in Mexico.
The Seminoles were led in the Moon Invitational, as you would expect, by Woad. She sandwiched a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 1-under 71s for a 5-under 211.
You know Woad is keeping half an eye on her preparation for the defense of the title she won in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship last spring. In the event’s short history, it has quickly become one of the most coveted titles in women’s amateur golf. It’s just six weeks away.
But I’m sure Woad has some team goals for Florida State, too. The Seminoles earned a trip to the NCAA Championship last spring at the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. by finishing in fifth place as a four seed in the Las Vegas Regional.
Woad was the runnerup in the individual chase at La Costa, but couldn’t drag her teammates into the match-play bracket.
Ting was the low Seminole in the final round at Suntree with a sparkling 4-under 68 that left her in the foursome tied for sixth place at 1-under 215. Ting had matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 3-over 75 in Monday’s second round.
Reigning ACC champion Wake Forest, No. 12 in the Scoreboard rankings, fell behind with an opening round of 9-over 297 and never could quite catch up. The Demon Deacons battled hard, posting a 3-under 285 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 5-under 283 to earn runnerup honors with a 1-over 865 total.
Wake Forest was fueled by a couple of top-six finishes as Anne-Sterre den Dunnen, a junior from The Netherlands, ended up alone in fifth place with a 2-under 214 total, and Chloe Kovelesky, a talented freshman from Boca Raton, Fla., was part of the quartet tied for sixth place at 1-under.
Den Dunnen bounced back from an opening round of 2-over 74 with a sparkling 5-under 67 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 1-over 73. Kovelesky finished strong with a 3-under 69. She had opened with a 2-over 74 before matching par in Monday’s second round with a 72.
Wake Forest advanced to last spring’s NCAA Championship at La Costa by finishing in third place as the top seed in the Bermuda Run Regional. The Demon Deacons finished two frustrating shots away from earning a spot in the match-play bracket in defense of the national title they won in 2023 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Southeastern Conference power South Carolina, No. 4 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished a shot behind Wake Forest in third place with a 2-over 866 total. Like Wake Forest, the Gamecocks struggled in the opening round with an 8-over 296. They bounced back with a 2-under 286 in Monday’s second round before closing with a solid 4-under 284.
Galitsky joined the South Carolina in time for the spring semester and was making just her second start. She made it a winning one as she caught Woad with a final round of 3-under 69 and then holed a 35-foot birdie putt on the first hole of the playoff to capture the individual title. The rookie certainly brought the drama.
Galitsky had matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round.
South Carolina advanced to last spring’s NCAA Championship by finishing in a tie for fourth place as the top seed in the Auburn Regional, but never really got it going at La Costa.
It was another six shots back to South Carolina’s new SEC rival Texas, No. 6 in the Scoreboard rankings, as the Longhorns finished in fourth place with an 8-over 872 total. Texas added an 8-over 296 in Monday’s second round to its opening round of 6-over 294 before finishing strong with a 6-under 282, the low team round of the tournament.
Texas was led by Lauren Kim, a sophomore from Canada and No. 27 in the Women’s WAGR who finished a shot out of the playoff for the individual title with a 4-under 212 total. After matching par with a 72 in the opening, Kim recorded a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round before contributing a 3-under 69 to the Longhorns’ strong finish.
Texas was coming off a third-place finish in its spring opener at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge at the Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., two shots ahead of South Carolina, which finished fourth.
The Longhorns advanced to last spring’s NCAA Championship by finishing in second place as a two seed in the Bermuda Run Regional, but failed to advance to the match-play bracket at La Costa.
A couple of perennial SEC powers, Texas A&M, No. 18 in the Scoreboard rankings, and Mississippi, No. 16 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished three shots behind Texas in a tie for fifth place, each landing on 11-over 875.
The Aggies matched par in Monday’s second round with a 288 after opening with a 4-over 292 and only trailed Florida State by seven shots going into the final round before finishing up with a 7-over 295.
Texas A&M took a significant hit during college golf’s midseason pause as France’s Adela Cernousek, the NCAA individual champion last spring, turned pro and earned herself an LPGA Tour card at the Final Qualifying Stage in December.
It wasn’t a huge shock as Cernousek’s game had already let her know it was time and the Aggies certainly appeared to be moving forward.
Behind Cernousek, Texas A&M earned a spot in the match-play bracket at the NCAA Championship at La Costa, falling to UCLA in the quarterfinals.
Ole Miss was solid at Suntree as well as the Rebels matched par in the final round with a 288 to join Texas A&M at 11-over. Ole Miss had opened with a 4-over 292 before adding a 7-over 295 in Monday’s second round.
Ole Miss advanced to the NCAA Championship last spring by claiming the team crown as a three seed in the Bermuda Run Regional, but never got it going at La Costa.
Another SEC power, Auburn, No. 21 in the Scoreboard rankings, finished two shots behind Texas A&M and Ole Miss in seventh place with a 13-over 877 total.
The Tigers had a strong finish, carding a 2-under 286 in the final round. Auburn had added a 7-over 295 in Monday’s second round to their opening-round 296.
Like Texas A&M, Auburn earned a spot in the match-play bracket in last spring’s NCAA Championship at La Costa, falling to eventual national champion Stanford in the quarterfinals.
Big Ten power Northwestern, No. 9 in the Scoreboard rankings, was another two shots behind Auburn in eighth place in the 17-team field with a 15-over 879 total.
The Wildcats were coming off a fourth-place finish in the Puerto Rico Classic at the Grand Reserve Golf Club, three shots behind Ole Miss, which ended up in a tie for second. Like Auburn, Northwestern finished strong in the Moon Golf Invitational, closing with a 2-under 286. The Wildcats had added a 9-over 297 in Monday’s second round to their opening-round 296.
Northwestern advanced to last spring’s NCAA Championship by finishing in fourth place as a two seed in the East Lansing Regional, but never really threatened for a spot in the match-play bracket at La Costa.
As good as Woad and Ting were for Florida State in the Moon Golf Invitational, head coach Amy Bond, in her 15th year with the Seminoles, was probably particularly heartened by the performance of the three freshmen in her lineup.
Layla Pedrique, out of West Palm Beach, Fla., finished in a tie for 25th place with a 4-over 220 total in her debut with the Seminoles after joining the program in time for the spring semester. After opening with a 1-under 71, Pedrique added a 1-over 73 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 4-over 76. All three scores were counters for Florida State.
Sophia Fullbrook, an English woman, was a shot behind Pedrique in the group tied for 27th place with a 5-over 221 total. Fullbrook matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 3-over 75 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 2-over 74.
Rounding out the Florida State lineup was Alexandra Gazzoli of Palm Coast, Fla. as she finished among the group tied for 40th place with a 7-over 223 total. After struggling a little in the opening round with a 4-over 76, Gazzoli contributed an important 2-under 70 to the Florida State cause in Monday’s second round before closing with a 5-over 77.
North Carolina, another ACC entry, got a strong showing from Ing Idpluem, a sophomore from Thailand who finished alone in fourth place in the individual standings, a shot behind Texas’ Kim with a 3-under 213 total. After opening with a 1-over 73, Idpleum recorded a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round before closing with a solid 3-under 69.
It was a little bit of a disappointing finish for the Tar Heels, No. 15 in the Scoreboard rankings, as they struggled in the first two rounds before closing with a solid 2-under 286 for a 24-over 888 total and ended up in 10th place.
Joining Florida State’s Ting and Wake Forest’s Kovelesky in the quartet tied for sixth place at 1-under were Mississippi’s Caitlyn Macnabb, a senior from South Africa and No. 26 in the Women’s WAGR, and Auburn’s Katie Cranston, a junior from Canada.
Macnab, the co-medalist in last spring’s Bermuda Run Regional, opened with a solid 2-under 70 and added a 2-over 74 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 1-under 71. Cranston climbed up the leaderboard on the strength of a solid 4-under 68 in the final round. She had opened with a 1-over 73 before adding a 2-over 74 in Monday’s second round.
Kim’s Texas teammate, Faith O’Keefe, a sophomore home girl from Austin, Texas and No. 11 in the Women’s WAGR, gave the Longhorns another finisher inside the top 10 as she headed a group of four players that rounded out the top 10 in the individual standings, each landing on even-par 216 in a tie for 10th place. Also in that foursome were Macnab’s Ole Miss teammate, Nicole Gal, a junior from Canada, Texas A&M’s Vanessa Borovilos, a freshman from Canada, and host Louisville’s Carmen Griffiths, a senior from Scotland.
O’Keefe closed with a sparkling 5-under 67 to climb into the top 10. She had opened with a 1-over 73 before struggling a little with a 4-over 76 in Monday’s second round.
Kim and O’Keefe gave Texas a pair of players in the round of 16 in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
Gal also struggled in Monday’s second round with a 4-over 76, but she sandwiched that with a pair of solid 2-under 70s.
Borovilos bounced back from an opening round of 4-over 76 with a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round and a final round of 3-under 69.
Griffiths matched par in Monday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 1-over 73 before finishing up with a 1-under 71.
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