Rydqvist, Darling lead the way as South Carolina cruises to an SEC crown at The Pelican Club

 

   Louise Rydqvist and Hannah Darling have been a part of some really talented teams during their time at South Carolina.

   But talent is everywhere in the Southeastern Conference, so just having good players isn’t enough to bring you a championship in the deepest conference in the country. It takes some pretty good measures of grit and determination.

   That’s probably why it was appropriate that when a 60-foot birdie bomb by Rydqvist, a senior from Sweden and No. 7 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), fell on the 17^th hole of her match with Florda’s Addison Klonowski, a redshirt freshman from Naples, Fla., the Gamecocks, for the first time since 2002, were crowned SEC champions.

   Rydqvist’s birdie gave her a 2 and 1 victory over Klonowski in Friday’s SEC championship match between South Carolina and Florida and was the clinching point in the Gamecocks’ 3.5-1.5 victory.

   The title match capped a frenetic week at The Pelican Club in Belleair, Fla. which saw South Carolina, No. 4 in the latest Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, grab the top seed after three rounds of stroke play and then claim match wins over upstart Tennessee, No. 31 in the Scoreboard rankings, and Mississippi, No. 17 in the Scoreboard rankings, to reach the title match against Florida.

   It was the first time since the SEC added a match-play layer to its conference championship to mimic the NCAA Championship in 2018 that the top-seeded team went on to capture the title. South Carolina’s victory makes the Gamecocks an automatic qualifier to an NCAA regional.

   Darling, a senior from Scotland and No. 17 in the Women’s WAGR, was tied with the Gators’ Paula Francisco, a sophomore from Spain, when the Rydqvist putt fell, so Darling’s match was halted and went into the books as a tie and a half a point.

   Darling also settled for a half in the semifinals in probably the most anticipated match of the tournament as she took on Mississippi’s Caitlyn Macnab, a senior from South Africa and No. 27 in the Women’s WAGR.

   South Carolina head coach Karlen Anderson isn’t afraid to send out Darling, who has played in the last three Curtis Cup Matches with Great Britain & Ireland -- losses to the United States at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire, Wales in 2021 and at Merion Golf Club’s iconic East Course in 2022 and a win over the U.S. last summer at Sunningdale Golf Club in England -- against the other team’s toughest player.

   Macnab had cruised to the SEC individual crown, closing with a sizzling 5-under 65 over the 6,036-yard, par-70 Pelican Club layout in Wednesday’s final round that gave her a 9-under 201 total that was four shots clear of the field. Macnab had recorded back-to-back 2-under 68s in the first two rounds.

   With Darling holding the fort against Macnab, her South Carolina teammates won their matches to give the Gamecocks a 4.5-.5 victory over Ole Miss, No. 17 in the Scoreboard rankings, that sent the Gamecocks to the title match against Florida.

   The South Carolina program got a huge boost when Eila Galitsky, a freshman from Thailand and No. 17 in the Women’s WAGR, arrived on the scene at the beginning of the spring semester.

   Earlier this month, Galitsky delivered the best round of the day, a 6-under 66, in the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship over the iconic Alister MacKenzie-Bobby Jones masterpiece to finish in a tie for fourth place with an 8-under 208 total.

   Galitsky was at it again in Belleair. She was the low Gamecock in qualifying for match play, finishing in a tie for fifth place with a 4-under 206 total to lead South Carolina to the top seed in match play.

   She proceeded to win all three of her matches, capping a really strong week by claiming a 3 and 1 victory over Florida’s Ines Archer, a sophomore from France and No. 92 in the Women’s WAGR.

   South Carolina got another full point in the title match against Florida when Maylis Lamoure, a sophomore from France, earned a 3 and 2 victory over Jessica Geiser, a freshman from Hartland, Wis.

   A young and talented Florida team, which outperformed its No. 22 spot in the Scoreboard rankings, got a full point from Karoline Tuttle, a redshirt sophomore from Lake Mary, Fla. as she handed South Carolina’s Sarah Burnett, a graduate student from Hilton Head Island, S.C., a 3 and 1 setback.

   In South Carolina’s semifinal victory over Ole Miss, Rydqvist claimed a 2 and 1 verdict over Sophie Linder, a sophomore from Carthage, Tenn., Galitsky earned a 3 and 1 victory over Kajsolatta Svavar, a freshman from Sweden, Burnett had to go 21 holes to pull out an overtime win over Filippa Sundquist, a redshirt freshman from Sweden, and Lamoure captured a hard-fought 1-up win over Nicole Gal, a junior from Canada.

   Florida, coming off a 5-0 dismantling of LSU, No. 10 in the Scoreboard rankings and seeded second in the SEC match-play field, in the quarterfinals, claimed an equally impressive 3-2 victory over Arkansas, No. 2 in the Scoreboard rankings, in the semifinals.

   Klonowski clinched the victory over the Razorbacks with a par at the 18^th hole that gave her a 1-up victory over Reagan Zibiliski, a junior from Springfield, Mo.

   But there were other heroes for the Gators as Francisco pulled out a 1-up victory over Abbey Shutte, a sophomore from Goodyear, Ariz., and Archer claimed a 2 and 1 win over Clarisa Temelo, a freshman from Mexico.

   Last summer, Kendall Todd, a senior who also hails from Goodyear, Ariz. and is No. 30 in the Women’s WAGR, and her Arkansas teammate Maria Jose Marin, a sophomore from Colombia and No. 10 in the Women’s WAGR, both reached the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. Those kind of match-play credentials from their top two players make the Razorbacks a tough out in match play.

   They accounted for Arkansas’ two points against Florida, Todd capturing a 2 and 1 win over Tuttle and Marin earning a 3 and 2 decision over Geiser.

   Todd and Marin were both winners in Arkansas’ 3-2 quarterfinal victory over Texas, No. 6 in the Scoreboard rankings and playing in the SEC Championship for the first time after leaving the Big 12.

   Todd pulled out a 3 and 2 victory over Angelo Heo, a junior from Murrieta, Calif., and Marin had to go to the 18^th hole to pull out a 1-up decision over Bohyun Park, a senior from Farmers Branch, Texas and No. 79 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Schutte picked up the critical third point with a 2 and 1 victory over Farah O’Keefe, a sophomore from Austin, Texas and No. 15 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Another fascinating quarterfinal match was the battle of Mississippi as Ole Miss knocked off defending SEC champion Mississippi State, No. 19 in the Scoreboard rankings, 3.5-1.5.

   Macnab got Mississippi started with a 3 and 2 triumph over South African country woman Samantha Whateley, a sophomore.

   Svavar edged Izzy Pellot, a junior from Orlando, Fla., 1-up, and Linder worked overtime to earn the clinching point for the Rebels on the 19^th hole over Ana Pina Ortega, a senior from Spain.

   Gal and Mississippi State’s Avery Weed, a sophomore from Ocean Springs, Miss. and No. 57 in the Women’s WAGR, were tied when Linder’s victory finished off the match win for Ole Miss.

   South Carolina’s road to the title began with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Tennessee in the quarterfinals.

   Rydqvist rolled to a 6 and 4 decision over Manassana Chotikabhukkana, a junior from Thailand, and Galitsky captured a 3 and 2 verdict over Kyra Von Kan, a freshman from South Africa.

   Burnett got the third point for the Gamecocks with a 3 and 2 victory over Bailey Davis, a junior from White Plains, Md.

   Tennessee got a really nice showing from Martina Lopez-Lanchares, a sophomore from Spain who knocked off Darling with a 3 and 1 decision.

   Tuttle launched Florida’s 5-0 sweep of LSU with a 6 and 5 victory over the Tigers’ senior standout Aine Donegan, an Irish woman who is No. 55 in the Women’s WAGR. Donegan was one of Darling’s GB&I teammates in its Curtis Cup victory over the U.S. at Sunningdale.

   Galitsky was solid in leading South Carolina to the top seed in three rounds of qualifying for match play as she opened with a sizzling 5-under 65 and added a 2-under 68 in the second round before closing with a 3-over 73 to get a share of fifth place with Texas’ Lauren Kim, a sophomore from Canada and No. 19 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Galitsky’s fast start helped the Gamecocks take control of the team race in qualifying right from the outset as they opened with a 14-under 266, the low team round of the tournament.

   South Carolina added a 6-under 274 in the second round before closing with a 4-over 284 that left it with a 16-under 824 total that was six shots clear of runnerup LSU.

   The Bayou Tigers, behind Taylor Riley, a junior from San Diego, Calif., and Rocio Tejeda, a freshman from Spain and No. 33 in the Women’s WAGR, both of whom finished among a trio of players tied for second place at 5-under 205, four shots behind Macnab, were the runnerup to South Carolina with a 10-under 830 total.

   After opening with a 5-under 275, LSU added a 1-under 279 in the second round before closing with a 4-under 276.

   Riley recorded back-to-back 2-under 68s in the first two rounds before closing with a 1-under 69 while her teammate Tejeda opened with a sparkling 4-under 66, slipped back a little with a 4-over 74 in the second round before closing with a solid 3-under 67 as they shared second place with Texas’ O’Keefe at 5-under.

   O’Keefe led the way for the Longhorns in their SEC Championship debut as they finished in third place, five shots behind LSU with a 5-under 205 total. After opening with a 1-under 279, Texas matched par in the second round with a 280 before closing with a 4-under 276.

   O’Keefe opened with a solid 3-under 67, matched par in the second round with a 70 and closed with a 2-under 68 to get her share of second place in the individual chase with the LSU pair of Taylor and Tejeda.

  Mississippi and Mississippi State set up their quarterfinal showdown by finishing in fourth and fifth place, respectively, the Rebels with a 1-under 839 total and the Bulldogs two shots behind their cross-state rivals at 1-over 841.

   Arkansas took sixth place with a 5-over 845 total, Florida started its journey to the title match by taking seventh with a 6-over 846 total and Tennessee grabbed the final spot in the match-play bracket by finishing eighth with a 7-over 847 total.

   It is a measure of the depth of talent in the SEC when you look at the team that finished in ninth place in the team standings and did not earn a spot in the match-place bracket. That would be Auburn, deservedly No. 16 in the Scoreboard rankings.

   The Plains Tigers finished six shots behind Tennessee in ninth place with a 13-over 853 total.

   Auburn will still hear its name called when the NCAA regional bids are handed out Wednesday during a broadcast on The Golf Channel. As will the eight teams that did advance to match play at The Pelican Club and probably a couple more SEC teams as well.

   And almost all of them are making plans to take a trip to Southern California for next month’s NCAA Championship at the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

   Rydqvist and Darling backed up Galitsky for South Carolina as they headed a group of four players tied for seventh place at 2-under 208.

   Rydqvist added a 1-under 69 in the second round to her opening round of 2-under 68 before closing with a 1-over 71.

   Darling matched her teammate Galitsky in the opening round with a sizzling 5-under 65 and added a 1-under 69 in the second round that gave her a two-shot lead over Macnab in the race for the individual title going into the final round. Darling backed off a little with a 4-over 74 in the final round.

   Burnett contributed a solid 2-under 68 to South Carolina’s fast start in the opening round and added a 4-over 74 in the second round before matching par in the final round with a 70 to finish among the trio tied for 23^rd place with a 2-over 212 total.

   Lamoure rounded out the South Carolina lineup as she finished a shot behind Burnett in the group tied for 26^th place with a 3-over 213 total. After struggling in the opening round with a 75, Lamoure was solid with a 2-under 68 in the second round and an even-par 70 in the final round.

   Kim gave Texas a second finisher among the top five in the individual chase as she carded back-to-back 1-under 69s in the first two rounds and closed with a 2-under 68 to get a share of fifth place with South Carolina’s Galitsky at 4-under.

   Joining Rydqvist and Darling in the quartet tied for seventh place at 2-under were Texas A&M’s Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, a senior from Spain and No. 34 in the Women’s WAGR, and Tennessee’s Chotikabhukkana.

   After opening with a 1-over 71, Fernandez Garcia-Poggio added a 2-under 68 in the second round before closing with a 1-under 69.

   The Aggies finished eight shots behind Auburn in 10^th place in the team standings with a 21-over 861 total. At No. 20 in the Scoreboard rankings, you can look for Texas A&M to get a regional bid.

   Chotikabhukkana closed with a sparking 4-under 66 in the final round to earn a top-10 finish. She had opened with a 2-over 72 before matching par in the second round with a 70.

   Freshman Angelina Tolentino, a Lenape High product and the reigning Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur champion, was in the lineup for Vanderbilt as she finished among a trio tied for 62^nd place with a 222 total. Tolentino opened with a 3-over 73 and added a 75 in the second round before closing with a 74.

   Vanderbilt finished in 15^th place in the 16-team field with a 40-over 880 total. It was a disappointing few days in Belleair for the Commodores, but at No. 21 in the Scoreboard rankings, they should also earn a trip to a regional somewhere, extending what has been a solid freshman campaign in the tough SEC for Tolentino.