Led by a top-six showing from Drew Nienhaus, a senior from St. Louis, Mo., Penn State finished in sixth place in the Westbrook Invitational, which wrapped up Feb. 24th at the Westbrook Village Golf Club’s Vistas Course in Peoria, Ill.
A red-hot Kansas, led by an equally hot individual winner in Lauren Clark, cruised to a nine-shot victory in the team standings with a 39-under-par 825 total, the second-best 54-hole score in program history. It was the fifth tournament victory in the wraparound 2024-2025 season for the Jayhawks, who play out of the Big 12.
It was a second straight individual title for Clark, a senior from Orlando, Fla. who rolled to a five-shot victory with a 17-under 199 total. Clark opened with a 5-under 67 over the 6,248-yard, par-72 Vistas Course layout at Westbrook. She added a sizzling 7-under 65 in the afternoon of an opening-day double round before closing with another 5-under 67.
Clark was coming off another five-shot victory over an even tougher field in the PDI Intercollegiate at Eagle Creek Golf Club in her home town of Orlando.
Kansas got the jump on the field with a sizzling 16-under 272 in the opening round and added a 10-under 278 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round. The Jayhawks closed with a 13-under 275 and had plenty of cushion to survive a late charge by UNLV.
Kansas entered the Westbrook Invitational at No. 25 in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings and moved up to No. 23 in the aftermath of its victory. Kansas failed to advance to the NCAA Championship last spring as a nine seed in the Cle Elum Regional.
UNLV, a Mountain West representative, closed with a tournament and program record 20-under 268 in the final round to earn a runnerup finish in the team standings, ending up nine shots behind Kansas with a 30-under 834 total.
The Rebels opened with a 7-under 281 and added a 3-under 285 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round. UNLV moved up two spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 35 to No. 33 in the aftermath of its runnerup finish in the Westbrook Invitational.
UNLV’s final-round surge was led by Toa Yokoyama, a senior from Japan who closed with a sizzling 6-under 66 to finish in a tie for second place in the individual standings with Kansas State’s Sophie Bert, a senior from Belgium, both ending up five shots behind Clark with a 12-under 204 total.
Yokoyama, who represented UNLV as an individual in last spring’s Las Vegas Regional, was hot at the start as well as she opened with an equally impressive 6-under 66 before matching par in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a 72.
It was another six shots back to Kansas’ in-state and Big 12 rival Kansas State in third place as the Wildcats finished with a 24-under 849 total. After getting off to a slow start with a 3-over 291, Kansas State came on strong with a 14-under 274 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 13-under 275.
Bert led the way for Kansas State as she earned a share of second place in the individual chase with Yokoyama at 12-under. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Bert went off with a spectacular 9-under 63 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round that broke a 22-year-old program record. A final round of 3-under 69 gave Bert a share of the program record for 54 holes with her 12-under 204 total.
Kansas State maintained its No. 30 spot in the Scoreboard rankings with its third-place finish in the Westbrook Invitational.
Louisiana Monroe, a Sun Belt Conference entry, and Wisconsin, out of the Big Ten, finished 14 shots behind Kansas State in a tie for fourth place, each ending up with a 10-under 854 total.
The War Hawks added a 5-under 283 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to their opening round of 1-over 289 before closing with a solid 6-under 282. The Badgers opened with a 5-under 283, but struggled in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a 5-over 293. Wisconsin finished strong, though, closing with a 10-under 278.
After posting a pair of 1-over 289s in the opening-day doubleheader, Penn State, like its Big Ten rival Wisconsin, finished strong with a 9-under 279 in the final round that enabled the Nittany Lions to finish three shots behind Louisiana Monroe and Wisconsin in sixth place in the 14-team field with a 7-under 857 total.
Nienhaus closed with a sparkling 6-under 66 to join a group of four players tied for sixth place at 8-undere 208.
Nienhaus had recorded a pair of 1-under 71s in the opening-day double round. It was the second straight tournament in which Nienhaus finished up with a 66 as she went 6-under to rise to a tie for 22nd place in the PDI Intercollegiate at Eagle Creek.
Backing up Clark for Kansas was Amy DeKok, a junior from Palm Desert, Calif. who finished a shot behind UNLV’s Yokoyama and Kansas State’s Bert in fourth place with an 11-under 205 total. DeKok sparked the strong start for the Jayhawks with a sparkling 6-under 66 in the opening round. She added a 2-under 70 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a 3-under 69.
Ebba Nordstedt, a freshman from Sweden, and Lily Hirst, a senior from the United Kingdom, finished among a trio tied for 16th place, each registering a 5-under 211 total for the Jayhawks.
After opening with a 3-under 69, Nordstedt carded back-to-back 1-under 71s in the final two rounds. Hirst opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a solid 4-under 68.
Rounding out the Kansas lineup was Johanna Ebner, a senior from Austria who finished alone in 30th place with a 2-under 214 total. Ebner sandwiched an even-par 72 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round with a pair of 1-under 71s.
Lyla Louderbaugh, a sophomore from Buffalo, Mo., competed as an individual for the Jayhawks and finished in a tie for 19th place with a 4-under 212 total. Louderbaugh opened with a 1-under 71 and added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a solid 4-under 68.
Kansas State’s Carla Bernat, a senior standout from Spain, backed up her teammate Bert as Bernat closed with a sizzling 7-under 65, matching the low round of the final round, to finish a shot behind Kansas’ DeKok in fifth place with a 10-under 206 total. Bernat opened with a 1-over 73 before adding a 4-under 68 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round.
Joining Penn State’s Nienhaus in the quartet tied for sixth place at 8-under were Colorado State’s Kara Kaneshiro, a sophomore from Honolulu, Hawaii, Wisconsin’s Vanessa Ho, a senior from San Diego, Calif., and Missouri’s Ffion Tynan, a senior from Wales.
Kaneshiro got off to a great start, adding a 5-under 67 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to her opening-round 69 before matching par with a 72 in the final round.
Ho added a 1-under 71 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to her opening round of 5-under 67 before closing with a 3-under 69. After opening with a 2-under 70, Tynan recorded a pair of 3-under 69s in the final two rounds.
Ho’s teammate Chloe Chan, a senior from Hong Kong, gave Wisconsin a second finisher in the top 10 as she finished alone in 10th place with a 7-under 209 total. After opening with a solid 3-under 69, Chan struggled a little with a 2-over 74 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before making a big move up the leaderboard with a sizzling 7-under 65 that matched the low round of the final round.
Backing up Nienhaus for Penn State was senior Michelle Cox, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Emmaus who finished in the group tied for 21st place with a 3-under 213 total. After opening with a 1-over 73, Cox added a 1-under 71 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round before closing with a solid 3-under 69.
It was the second straight strong showing of the spring for Cox, who was coming off a tie for 11th place in the PDI Intercollegiate at Eagle Creek.
Jiratchaya Jiratthitinun, a freshman from Thailand, was solid at Westbrook Village for the Nittany Lions as she finished in a tie for 34th place with an even-par 216 total. Jiratthitnun added a 1-over 73 in the afternoon of the opening-day double round to her opening round of 1-under 71 before matching par in the final round with a 72.
Myranda Quinton, a junior from Canada, finished in a tie for 47th place for Penn State at 4-over 220 as she matched par in the final round with a 72 after posting a pair of 2-over 74s in the opening-day double round.
Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Jami Morris, a senior from Chagrin Falls, Ohio who finished alone in 75th place with a 231 total. Morris registered a pair of 4-over 76s in the opening-day double round before closing with a 79.
Freshman Gwendolyn Powell, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at North Pocono, competed as an individual for the Nittany Lions at Westbrook Village and finished among the group tied for 73rd place with a 230 total. Powell struggled in the opening-day double round, adding a 5-over 77 in the afternoon to her opening-round 82, but bounced back nicely in the final round with a solid 1-under 71.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment