It looks like the Southeastern Conference might be a force
when the postseason comes around next spring.
South Carolina, No. 9 in the latest Golfstat
rankings, had the best round of the day, a 5-under-par 283, to surge past SEC
rival Alabama, ranked 13th, and take the team crown by five shots in
The Landfall Tradition, which wrapped up Sunday at the Country Club of
Landfall’s Pete Dye Course in Wilmington, N.C. It was the second team title of
the fall campaign for the Gamecocks, who finished at the top of a loaded field
in the Windy City Collegiate.
Led by Ana Pelaez, a senior from Spain who finished alone in
second place in the individual standings, and Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, a
freshman from France who ended up among a trio of players tied for third place,
the Gamecocks finished with a 7-under 857 total.
The Crimson Tide had carried an 11-shot lead over South
Carolina into the final round, but struggled to a final round of 11-over 299 to
finish five shots behind the Gamecocks at 2-under 862. Still, Alabama joined
South Carolina as the only two teams to finish under par for three rounds.
I thought they might have to deal with some weather in
Wilmington, N.C. Sunday, but there was only a brief mention of windy conditions
in coverage of the victory on the South Carolina website.
No. 19 Illinois, out of the Big Ten, matched par in the
final round with a 288 to move into third place with a 5-over 869 total, seven
shots behind Alabama. No. 16 Oklahoma State, out of the Big 12, was three shots
behind the Fighting Illini in fourth place with an 8-over 872 total after a
final round of 3-over 291.
No. 37 Florida State, out of an Atlantic Coast Conference
that produced the two finalists in last year’s NCAA Championship at The
Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark., was a shot behind Oklahoma State in
fifth place with a 9-over 873 total after a final round of 6-over 294.
No. 26 North Carolina, another ACC entry, finished in 12th
place with a 24-over 888 total after a third straight round of 8-over 296.
No. 86 Penn State carded a final round of 301 to finish 15th
in a tough 18-team field with a 35-over 899 total. The Nittany Lions finished
fifth of the seven Big Ten teams in the field.
After a pair of 1-under 71s, Pelaez fired a 3-under 69 over
the 6,166-yard, par-72 Pete Dye Course in the final round to finish with a
5-under 211 total that left her as the runnerup to individual champion
Priscilla Schmid, a sophomore at Indiana from Uruguay who matched the best
round of the day in the final round with a 4-under 68 for a 7-under 209 total.
Roussin-Bouchard, No. 8 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf
Ranking (WAGR), carded a final round of 1-under 71 to finish tied for third at
3-under 213. The freshman’s college career is off to a solid start as she
sparked the Gamecocks’ victory in the Windy City Collegiate with her first
individual tournament win.
Mathilde Claisse, another freshman from France, backed up
the top two as she matched par in the final round with a 72 to end up among the
group tied for 13th place at 1-over 217. The 1-over 73 posted by
Lois Kaye Go, a senior leader from the Philippines, was a throw-out for the
Gamecocks, but she finished among the group tied for 17th place at
2-over 218.
After struggling with a pair of 78s in the first two rounds,
Emily Price, a sophomore from England, came up big in the final round with a
1-under 71 that helped her finish in the group tied for 55th place
at 11-over 227.
Indiana’s Schmid had opened with a 3-under 69 and matched
par in Saturday’s second round with a 72 before her final-round 68 earned her
her first collegiate victory at 209.
Joining South Carolina’s Roussin-Bouchard in the trio tied
for third at 3-under 213 were Alabama’s top two finishers, Angelica Moresco, a
junior from Spain, and Kenzie Wright, a senior from Frisco, Texas. Moresco had
held the individual lead after two rounds, but closed with a 2-over 74. Wright
matched par in the final round with a 72.
Oklahoma State’s freshman phenom, Isabella Fierro of Mexico,
headed a group of four players that finished in a tie for sixth place at
2-under 214. Fierro, coming off her first collegiate victory in the Betsy Rawls
Invitational, closed with a 1-over 73.
Rounding out the quartet tied for sixth place at 214 were
Illinois’ Tristyn Nowlin, a senior from Richmond, Ky., Virginia Tech’s Jessica
Spicer, a senior from Bahama, N.C., and Michigan State’s Paz Marfa Sans, a
senior from Spain who was competing as an individual.
Nowlin matched the low round of the day with a 4-under 68,
Spicer closed with her second consecutive 1-under 71, and Marfa Sans finished
up with a 2-under 69.
Penn State’s Sarah Willis, a sophomore from Eaton, Ohio,
earned a top-10 finish as she matched par in the final round with a 72 to
finish alone in 10th place with a 1-under 215 total.
North Carolina, playing without one of its senior leaders,
Brynn Walker, a two-time PIAA Class AAA champion at Radnor, was led by Jennifer
Zhou, a sophomore from China. Zhou, who had posted back-to-back 1-over 73s in
the first two rounds, closed with a 1-under 71 to land in the group tied for 13th
place at 1-over 217.
Nicole Lu, a sophomore from Taiwan, had matched Zhou’s
back-to-back 73s in the first two rounds before making it three consecutive 73s
as she finished among the group tied for 26th place at 3-over 219.
The Tar Heels’ pair of talented freshmen, Kayla Smith of
Burlington, N.C. and Krista Junkkari of Finland, finished tied for 52nd
and tied for 53rd, respectively. Smith carded her third straight
3-over 75 to end up with a 9-over 225 total. Junkkari, after matching Smith’s
back-to-back 75s in the first two rounds, closed with a 77 for an 11-over 227
total.
Rounding out the North Carolina lineup was Ava Bergner, a
junior from Germany who struggled at the Pete Dye Course and finished in the
group tied for 93rd place at 241 after a final-round 80.
Mariana Ocano, a senior from St. Petersburg, Fla. competing
as an individual, finished among the group tied for 73rd place at
231 after closing with a 78.
Backing up Willis for Penn State was Mathilde Delavallade, a
freshman from France who closed with her best round of the weekend, a 1-over
73, to finish in the group tied for 45th place at 7-over 223.
Junior Olivia Zambruno, the 2016 PIAA Class AA champion as a
senior at Greensburg Central Catholic, also closed with her best round of the
weekend, a 2-over 74, as she finished among the group tied for 77th
place at 232.
Seniors Madelein Herr, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier
at Council Rock North, and Megan McLean, who starred scholastically at
Voorhees, each struggled to a final-round 82. That left Herr in a tie for 88th
place at 237. McLean, who had opened with a solid 1-over 73, ended up in the
group tied for 91st place at 239.
No. 29 Furman closed with a final round of 3-over 291 to
move into 10th place in the team standings at 20-over 884. The
Paladins got a final round of 1-under 71 from freshman Caroline Wrigley, the
PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at North Allegheny a year ago who finished
among the group tied for 48th place at 8-over 224.
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