Suh shows why he's No. 1 in leading Southern Cal to team title in Southwestern Invitational

   You’re the No. 1 player on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and you have a 12-footer for birdie on the 18^th hole to give your team the victory. You’ve already got the individual championship wrapped up. So, you bury it, right?

   That’s exactly what Southern California’s Justin Suh, a senior from San Jose, Calif., did Tuesday to lift the Trojans, No. 6 in the latest Golfstat rankings, to a one-shot victory over Pac-12 rival California in the  Southwestern Invitational at the North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif.

   It was the third tournament win of the 2018-’19 season for Southern Cal, the reigning Pac-12 champion. The Trojans were 30-under par in The Amer Ari Invitational in Hawaii to open the spring portion of their season, but that was only good enough to finish tied for fourth against a loaded field.

   Suh’s birdie conversion at the last gave the reigning Pac-12 champion a third straight 4-under-par 68 over the 6,992-yard, par-72 Lakes and Oaks nines at North Ranch for a 12-under 204 total that was four shots better than runnerup Clay Feagler, a junior at Pepperdine out of Laguna Niguel, Calif.

   Southern Cal had carded rounds of 4-under 284 and 3-under 285 in Monday’s double-round to take a five-shot lead into the final round. Not everybody completed both rounds when darkness fell Monday and those who didn't had to return to finish their second round Tuesday morning.

   No. 15 California and No. 35 UCLA caught and passed the Trojans before they battled back. Kaito Onishi, a sophomore from Bradenton, Fla., birdied the 18^th to draw Southern Cal even with California and set the stage for Suh’s heroics. The Golfstat rankings have changed since the completion of the Southwestern Invitational, so I went with the latest rankings.

   Suh’s birdie putt gave the Trojans a 3-over 291 in the final round and a 4-under 860 total. California closed with a 5-under 283, the low team round of the tournament, to finish a shot behind Southern Cal at 3-under 861.

   Southern Cal’s cross-town rival UCLA was another four shots behind California in third at 1-over 865. The Bruins opened with a 2-under 286 and matched par with a 288 in the afternoon round Monday before closing with a 3-over 291.

   Tournament host Pepperdine, ranked 13^th, was another four shots behind UCLA in fourth at 5-over 869 after closing strong with a 3-under 285.

   No. 25 Tennessee took a western road trip and finished fifth, eight shots behind Pepperdine at 13-over 877. The Volunteers, out of the Southeastern Conference, finished up with an 8-over 296.

   No. 59 San Jose State carded a solid 1-over 289 in the final round to finish a shot behind Tennessee in sixth in the 12-team field at 14-over 878.

   Onishi backed up Suh for Southern Cal, finishing among the group tied for 10^th at even-par 216 even though his closing birdie only gave him a final round of 3-over 75. Onishi’s opening round of 3-under 69 had helped the Trojans start fast.

   Kyle Suppa, a junior from Honolulu, had a clutch 1-under 71 in the final round to finish alone in 19^th place at 3-over 219.

   Sam Kim, a senior from Irvine, Calif., and Issei Tanabe, a sophomore from Huntingdon Beach, Calif., both landed among the group tied for 38^th at 9-over 225. Kim finished up with a 5-over 77. Tanabe, whose final-round 79 was a throw-out, had opened with an even-par 72.

   Competing as an individual, Charlie Reiter, a freshman from Palm Desert, Calif., made his case for a spot in the first five as he finished among the group tied for 32^nd at 7-over 223. His final-round 74 would have been a counter.

   When the second round was finally complete, it was Pepperdine’s Feagler who was the individual leader as he fired a sparkling 6-under 66 in the second round that left him a shot ahead of Suh at 9-under 135. He backed off in the final round with a 1-over 73 that left him four shots behind Suh in second at 8-under 208.

   You can’t feel too bad when you finish in between No. 1 and No. 2 in the WAGR. No. 2 would be California’s Collin Morikawa, a senior from La Canada Flintridge, Calif. who went 4-0 in the 2017 Walker Cup Match at Los Angeles Country Club to help the United States roll to a 19-7 victory over Great Britain & Ireland.

   Morikawa had a pair of 2-under 70s in Monday’s double-round and closed with a 1-under 71 to finish alone in third, three shots behind Feagler at 5-under 211.

   Two of Morikawa’s teammates, Sebastian Crampton, a redshirt senior from Pacific Grove, Calif., and Kaiwen Liu, a sophomore from San Diego, finished among a group of five players tied for fourth at 3-under 213, two shots behind Morikawa.

   Unfortunately for the Golden Bears, Liu was competing as an individual. But that’s what all these tournaments are for, to figure out your best six for the Pac-12 Championship and your best five for the rest of the postseason.

   Crampton and Liu each closed with a 3-under 69 to get it to 3-under for the tournament.

   Rounding out the quintet at 3-under were UCLA’s Sean Maruyama, a freshman from Encino, Calif., Loyola Marymount’s Gavin Cohen, a senior from Tucson, Ariz., and San Jose State’s Kevin Velo, a senior from Danville, Calif.

   Maruyama ripped off the low round of the tournament, a scintillating 7-under 65, in the second round, but closed with a 3-over 75. He had opened with a 1-over 73. Cohen got it going in the second round as well with a 4-under 68 before closing with an even-par 72. Velo struggled in the second round with a 3-over 75, but surrounded that with an opening round of 3-under 69 and a final round of 4-under 68.

Klotz leads Delaware to fourth-place finish in a big field in Kiawah Island Spring Classic

   It was billed as the biggest tournament in women’s college golf and with 49 teams, they certainly might have something there.

   You could quibble because tourney host the College of Charleston fielded two teams, but make no mistake about it, there were a ton of golfers gathered on Kiawah Island, S.C. for this week’s Kiawah Island Spring Classic. It wasn’t exactly a summit meeting of the best teams in college golf, but the quality of play, even in what might be considered the bottom half of Division I, was evident.

   Take, for instance, Delaware. The Blue Hens are No. 111 in the latest Golfstat rankings, but only 10 shots separated them from a berth in an NCAA Regional last spring.

   Even with all those teams in the field, Delaware had a very interested eye on the College of Charleston because that’s the team the Blue Hens finished 10 shots behind in second place in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship a year ago. Delaware was bidding for a third straight CAA title, but was denied by the College of Charleston, which at No. 55 was the highest-ranked team in the field at Kiawah Island.

   And it turned out be a pretty good week for Delaware. The Blue Hens posted a team-record 10-over 874 total for a 54-hole event and finished alone in fourth place, nine shots behind co-champions Coastal Carolina, ranked 73^rd, and No. 63 North Florida.

   And, probably more importantly to the Blue Hens, they finished three shots ahead of the College of Charleston, which ended up alone in sixth at 13-over 877.

   Of course, it took more than one golf course to play this event. Most of the top teams opened play Sunday at the 5,954-yard, par-72 Osprey Point Golf Club layout and then played their second round at the 5,941-yard, par-72 Oak Point Golf Club. The top 24 teams after two rounds played Osprey Point in the final round.

   That’s how it shook out for co-champions Coastal Carolina and North Florida, as well as for Delaware.

   Coastal Carolina opened up with a 2-under 286 at Osprey Point, added an 8-over 296 at Oak Point and finished up with a 4-under 284 at Osprey Point for a 1-over 865 total. After opening with a 5-over 293 at Osprey Point, North Florida had one of, if not the, best round, a 4-under 284 at Oak Point before finishing up with an even-par 288 at Osprey Point to join Coastal Carolina at 1-over 865 and get a share of the team title.

   North Florida was led by individual champion Sydney Shrader, a junior from Naples, Fla. who opened with an even-par 72 at Osprey Point and then ripped off a 4-under 68 at Oak Point before finishing up with a sparkling 5-under 67 at Osprey Point for a 9-under 207 total that was one shot better than South Florida’s Ramya Meenakshisundaram, a freshman from Jacksonville, Fla.

   Much like their male counterparts, the North Florida and South Florida programs, while not the biggest Division I programs when it comes to other sports, have a ton of good players from which to choose when it comes to golf.

   No. 77 Tulsa finished up strong with a 5-under 283 to end up alone in third at 8-over 872. Delaware was two shots behind the Golden Hurricane in fourth as the Blue Hens opened up with a 1-over 289 at Osprey Point, added an 8-over 296 at Oak Point and finished up with another 1-over 289 at Osprey Point to account for their 10-over 874 total.

    No. 81 South Florida was a shot behind the Blue Hens in fifth at 11-over 875 after closing with a 4-under 284. The College of Charleston matched Tulsa for the low round of the day in Tuesday’s final round with a 5-under 283 to finish two shots behind South Florida in sixth at 13-over 877. The Cougars struggled a little in the first two rounds, opening with an 8-over 296 before adding a 10-over 298 in the second round.

   No. 125 Youngstown State matched par in the final round with a 288 that landed the Penguins in seventh place at 14-over 878.

   Backing up Shrader for North Florida was Liss Davalos, a freshman from Mexico who was among five players tied for fifth at 2-under 214. Davalos contributed to North Florida’s strong showing at Oak Point in the second round with a 3-under 69 before finishing up with a 1-over 73 at Osprey Point.

   The rest of the North Florida lineup all landed among the group tied for 45^th at 223, including Mindy Herrick, a sophomore from Gainesville, Fla., Daniela Gonzalez, a freshman from Colombia and Teresa Conway, a junior from Tallahassee, Fla.

   Herrick and Conroy each finished up with a 2-over 74 while Gonzalez, who opened with a 2-over 74 at both Osprey Point in the first round and Oak Point in the second round, closed with a 3-over 75 at Osprey Point.

   Coastal Carolina was led by Jenjira Jinangkul, a freshman from Thailand who carded a 2-under 70 in the final round to join the group tied for 10^th at 1-under 215.

   Three of Jinangkul’s teammates were not far behind. Frantiska Lunackova, a sophomore from the Czech Republic was just a shot behind Jinangkul in the group tied for 13th at even-par 216 after closing with a solid 1-under 71.

   Frantiska’s big sister, Marie Lunackova, a senior, and Tiffany Arafi, a freshman from Switzerland, were another shot behind Frantiska Lunackova in the group tied for 17^th at 1-over 217. Marie Lunackova matched par in the final round with a 72 and Arafi finished up with a 1-under 71.

   Rounding out the Coastal Carolina lineup was Stephanie Henning, a junior from Sweden who finished among a group tied for 55^th at 224. Henning matched par in the final round with a 72, giving Coastal Carolina five rounds at par or better on the final day.

   South Florida’s Meenaskhisundaram capped a really strong showing with a 3-under 69 in the final round at Osprey Point to finish a shot behind Shrader in the individual chase at 8-under 208. She was five shots better than the rest of the field.

    Youngstown State’s Kaitlyn Shutt, a junior from Dover, Ohio, and Western Carolina’s Amy Wooten, a freshman from Clinton, N.C., shared third place, each finishing at 3-under 213. Shutt matched Shrader’s sparkling final round of 5-under 67 to get her share of third. Wooten had shared the lead with South Florida’s Meenakshisundaram going into the final round after opening with a 3-under 69 and adding a 2-under 70 before closing with a 2-over 74.

   Leading the way for the College of Charleston was Anna-Theresa Rottluff, a junior from Germany who was among the group along with North Florida’s Davalos tied for fifth at 2-under 214. After opening with a 1-over 73, Rottluff bettered par with a 2-under 70 in the second round and a 1-under 71 in the final round.

   Rounding out the quintet tied for fifth at 2-under 214 were IUPUI’s Marion Debove, a junior from France, High Point’s Sarah Kuhn, a freshman from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and Jacksonville’s Hannah Berman, a junior from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

   Debove zoomed up the leaderboard with a school-record 6-under 66 in the final round at Osprey Point -- from what I can see it was the low round for either course for the tournament -- that featured eight birdies and two bogeys. Kuhn matched par in the final round with a 72 and Berman finished up with a 1-under 71.

   Delaware was led by its best player, Ariane Klotz, a junior from New Caledonia who fired a final round of 3-under 69 to land among the group tied for 13^th at even-par 216. Klotz finished in a tie for second in last spring’s CAA Championship.

   Thitaree Sakulbunpanich, a sophomore from Thailand, backed up Klotz as she finished among the group tied for 21^st at 2-over 218. Sakulbunpanich matched par in the opening round with a 72 at Osprey Point, added a 1-over 73 at Oak Point and finished up with another 1-over 73 back at Osprey Point.

   Ashley Dingman, a senior from Fairfield, Calif., finished among the group tied for 31^st at 4-over 220 after a final round of 1-over 73 and Valentina Mueller, a senior from Switzerland, finished among the group tied for 38^th at 6-over 222 after closing with a 76.

   Rounding out the Delaware lineup was Sophia Dieter, a freshman from Jupiter, Fla. who closed with a solid 2-over 74 that was a counter for the Blue Hens to land among the group tied for 76^th at 10-over 226. Kyle Greulich, a junior from Huron, Ohio, competed as an individual at Kiawah Island, closing with an 83 to finish among the group tied for 199^th at 244.

   Klotz, Sakulbunpanich, Dingman and Mueller were all in the lineup when Delaware finished second to the College of Charleston in the CAA Championship last spring. I’m sure they’d like nothing more than to turn the tables this spring.

Mancheno leads the way as host Auburn rolls to team title in Tiger Invitational

   Auburn, No. 10 in the latest Golfstat rankings, has to be considered a legitimate contender for a national championship.

   The Tigers have displayed plenty of match-play chops, first in winning the Southeastern Conference championship by defeating arch-rival Alabama in the final last  spring and then making it all the way to the semifinals in the NCAA Championship at Karsten Creek Golf Club before falling to eventual champion Oklahoma State.

   Alabama got a rematch with Auburn in the final of the East Lake Cup as the fall portion of the 2018-’19 neared its conclusion and the Tigers again knocked off the Crimson Tide to capture the title.

They shot 37-under par in their spring opener, The Amer Ari Invitational in Hawaii, but that left them 10 shots behind Oklahoma State, which carded an otherworldly 47-under total to claim the team title. But Auburn proved it has a pretty potent stroke-play team.

   If you’re not one of the eight teams that survives stroke play in the NCAA Championship at The Blessing Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark., it doesn’t matter how good a match-play team you have.

   Auburn was the host this week for the Tiger Invitational, presented by Jason Dufner, which wrapped up Tuesday at the Grand National Golf Course in Opelika, Ala. You would expect Auburn to win the title and it did, but there was some decent competition there and the Tigers played pretty well.

Maybe even more impressive is that the five-man Auburn B team finished tied for sixth, 26 shots behind the starting lineup, in the 16-team field. If anyone in the top five falters, there are some pretty good players willing and able to step in. It is the kind of depth only the top programs possess.

   Auburn struggled a little in the opening round with a 5-over 293, but then fired a pair of 8-under 280s over the 7,289-yard, par-72 Grand National layout for an 11-under 853 total. That was 10 shots clear of No. 6 SMU, which closed with a solid 7-under 281 to finish second with a 1-under 863 total.

   The Tigers were led by Brandon Mancheno, a sophomore from Jacksonville, Fla. who was so strong as a freshman during their run to the NCAA semifinals last spring. Mancheno made a birdie on the 17^th hole to catch Kennesaw State’s Wyatt Larkin, a redshirt senior from Morganton, Ga., at 4-under 212 and force a playoff.

   Mancheno then dropped a 12-foot par putt on the first hole of the playoff to claim the individual title. Mancheno opened with a 2-over 74, but got in the hunt with a 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round. He finished up with a 2-under 70 to get it to 4-under.

   No. 96 South Alabama finished up with a 1-under 287 in the second round and an even-par 288 in the final round to end up alone in third at 8-over 872, nine shots behind runnerup SMU.

   No. 21 Arkansas State had grabbed the opening-round lead with a solid 5-under 283 before falling back with a 300 in the second round and a final-round 290 to finish a shot behind South Alabama in fourth at 9-over 873. No. 63 Kennesaw State, behind Larkin’s strong showing, closed with a solid 7-under 281 to finish fifth at 14-over 878, five shots behind Arkansas State.

   No. 81 North Carolina Wilmington, the reigning Colonial Athletic Association champion, shared sixth place with the Auburn B team at 15-over 879, a shot behind Kennesaw State. UNC Wilmington bounced back from a shaky 301 in the opening round with a pair of 1-over 289s in the last two rounds. Auburn’s B team matched par in the final round with a 288 to get its share of sixth.

   Backing up Mancheno for the Tigers was Trace Crowe, a senior from Bluffton, S.C. who finished up with a sparkling 5-under 67 to end up alone in seventh place at 2-under 214, just two shots behind Mancheno and Larkin.

   Jovan Rebula, a junior from South Africa and No. 37 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, gave Auburn three players in the top 10 as he ended up among the group tied for 10^th at even-par 216. Rebula, the nephew of Ernie Els and winner of The Amateur Championship at Royal Aberdeen Golf Club last summer, bounced back from an opening-round 74 with a 3-under 69 before finishing up with a 1-over 73.

   Graysen Huff, a junior from Eagle, Idaho, carded a 2-under 70 in the final round to finish among the group tied for 17^th at 2-over 218. Jacob Solomon finished up with a 2-over 74 to end up in the group tied for 25^th at 4-over 220. But the pair of 1-over 73s Solomon posted in the first two rounds were both counters.

   Mancheno, Crowe and Rebula were all in the starting lineup when Auburn fell to Oklahoma State in the NCAA semifinals at Karsten Creek.

   Andrew Kozan, a sophomore from West Palm Beach, Fla., led the way for Auburn’s second five as he landed in the group tied for 12^th at 1-over 217. Kozan carded an impressive 3-under 69 in the second round before closing with a 1-over 73.

   Larkin opened with an even-par 72 and added a 1-under 71 before finishing up with a 3-under 69 to get in the playoff with Mancheno.

   Georgia State’s Josh Edgar, a junior from Australia, owned a four-shot lead over Mancheno heading into Tuesday’s final round after opening with a 4-under 68 and adding a 2-under 70 in the second round. He fell back in the final round with a 3-over 75 and headed a group of four players tied for third at 3-under 213, a shot behind Mancheno and Larkin.

   SMU had a pair of players, Mac Meissner, a sophomore from San Antonio, Texas, and Noah Goodwin, a sophomore from Corinth, Texas, in that foursome tied for third at 3-under 213 and both finished strong, sparking the Mustangs to their closing 7-under team score.

   Meissner fired a 5-under 67 in the final round and Goodwin, who won the 2017 U.S. Junior Championship at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan., posted a 4-under 68. Goodwin was the American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Player of the Year in 2017 and joined the SMU program after the midseason break last year.

   Rounding out the quartet at 3-under 213 was Louisiana Monroe’s Guillaume Fanonnel, a junior from France who fired a pair of 3-under 69s after opening up with a 3-over 75.