Kent State goes low in final round to claim team crown in ICON Invitational at The Woodlands

   The depth that has made Kent State, No. 5 in the latest Golfstat rankings, one of the most dangerous teams in the country during the wraparound 2019-2020 season was on display again this week as the Golden Flashes went low in the final round to claim a seven-shot victory in the ICON Invitational, hosted by Houston at The Woodlands Country Club’s Tournament Course in The Woodlands, Texas.

   Kent State, under first-year coach Lisa Strom, the 1994 PIAA champion as a senior at Lansdale Catholic, finished up with an 11-under-par 277 over the testy 6,392-yard, par-72 Tournament Course layout Tuesday to claim its fifth tournament title of the season and top a field that included the No. 1 team in the country in Texas.

   Kent State had opened with scores of 2-over 290 and 1-under 287 in Monday’s double-round and shared the lead after 36 holes with Big Ten power Purdue, probably a little underrated at No. 51, at 1-over 577.

   But with Caley McGinty, a freshman from England, veteran senior Pimnipa Panthong of Thailand and No. 30 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Chloe Salort, a junior from France, all posting sub-par rounds in Tuesday’s final round, the Flashes pulled away for a 10-under 854 total.

   Purdue closed with a solid 4-under 284, but had to settle for runnerup honors at 3-under 861. The Boilermakers were solid in Monday’s double-round, opening with a 1-over 289 and matching par in the second round with a 288.

   No. 34 Texas A&M, under legendary former Southern California coach Andrea Gaston, closed strong with a 5-under 283 to finish third with an even-par 864 total. The Aggies are out of the tough Southeastern Conference.

   The top-ranked Longhorns, the reigning three-time Big 12 champions, closed with a 1-under 287 to finish two shots behind Texas A&M at 2-over 866. Texas, which reached match play in last spring’s NCAA Championship at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark., was playing with a lineup that did not include Kaitlyn Papp, a junior home girl from Austin, Texas who is No. 10 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Texas is talented enough that it’s possible Papp simply failed to survive a team qualifier or she might be injured or ill. This isn’t the NFL. There are no injury reports in women’s college golf.

   Texas’ Big 12 rival, TCU, ranked 54^th, was another six shots behind the Longhorns in fifth place in the 14-team field at 8-over 872. The Horned Frogs fired a 6-under 282 in Monday afternoon’s second round that left them one shot out of the team lead before falling back with a 6-over 294 in Tuesday’s final round.

   McGinty led the way for Kent State as she contributed a 4-under 68 to the Flashes’ scorching final round to finish alone in third place in the individual standings at 5-under 211. McGinty had opened with a 3-under 69 before backing off a little with a 2-over 74 in Monday afternoon’s second round.

   Panthong was a shot behind McGinty as she also fired a finishing 4-under 68 to end up alone in fourth place at 4-under 212. Panthong had added a 2-under 70 to her opening-round 74 in Monday’s double-round.

   Salort fired a 3-under 69 in Tuesday’s final round to finish a shot behind Panthong in a tie for fifth place at 3-under 213. Salort had matched par with a pair of 72s in each of Monday’s rounds.

   The other of Kent State’s steady senior leaders, Karoline Stormo of Norway and No. 7 in the Women’s WAGR, and Kory Nielsen, a junior home girl from Kent, Ohio, backed up their teammates by each matching par in the final round with 72s.

   It was Stormo’s second straight 72 after she had opened with a 75 and left her in the group tied for 20^th place at 3-over 219. Nielsen had signed for an opening-round 77 before adding a 1-over 73 in Monday afternoon’s second round that was a counter for the Flashes as she finished among the group tied for 39^th place at 6-over 222.

   Tulsa’s Lorena Tseng, a sophomore from Taiwan, matched the low round of the tournament, a sparkling 5-under 67, in Tuesday’s final round to capture the individual title with a 7-under 209 total. Tseng had matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 2-under 70 that left her in a group of four players tied for second, two shots behind Texas’ Sophie Guo, a freshman from Orlando, Fla. and No. 48 in the Women’s WAGR, after Monday’s double-round.

   Tseng, whose round began at the seventh hole, pulled away from the pack with six birdies in Tuesday’s final round, five of which came in an eight-hole stretch from the 12^th through the first holes, as she earned her second collegiate victory.

   Purdue’s Sifat Sagoo, a freshman from India, was also in that group tied for second after she posted a pair of 1-under 71s in Monday’s double-round. She closed with a 4-under 68 to finish alone in second place at 6-under 210, a shot behind Tseng.

   Guo had posted a pair of 2-under 70s in Monday’s double-round to take a two-shot lead into the final round, but fell back a little with a 1-over 73 in Tuesday’s final round to get a share of fifth place with Kent State’s Salort at 3-under 213.

   Texas Tech’s Sofia Garcia, a junior from Paraguay and No. 17 in the Women’s WAGR, matched Tseng for the low round of the tournament with her final round of 6-under 67 that gave her a share of seventh place with TCU’s Sabrina Iqbal, a sophomore from San Jose, Calif., at 2-under 214.

   Garcia started slowly with a 4-over 76 before adding a 1-under 71 in Monday afternoon’s second round. Iqbal joined the group tied for second place through two rounds with a 3-under 69 in Monday afternoon’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Virginia Tech’s Emily Mahar, a junior from Australia, was also in the group tied for second through two rounds after adding a 2-under 70 to her opening-round 72. She fell back a little with a 1-over 73 in the final round to finish in a tie for ninth place with Texas A&M’s Amber Park, a junior from Allen, Texas, and Purdue’s Kan Bunnabodee, a freshman from Thailand, at 1-under 215.

   Park matched par in the second round with a 72 after opening with a 74 and then finished strong with a 3-under 69 to get to 1-under. Bunnabodee started slowly with a 75 before firing a sparkling 4-under 68 in Monday afternoon’s second round. Bunnabodee closed by matching par with a 72.

Even shorthanded, Southern California edges host UCLA for team title in Bruin Wave Invitational

   It was the spring of 2018 when Southern California was decimated by several midseason defections, chief among them Robynn Ree, who had qualified for the LPGA Tour in the old LPGA Qualifying School Final Stage.

   But in what turned out to be the final season with the legendary Andrea Gaston at the helm, four freshmen and a sophomore shrugged, went to work and made it all the way to the semifinals in the NCAA Championship at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.

   That same can-do attitude was still very much in evidence in this week’s Bruin Wave Invitational, hosted by the Trojans’ age-old, cross-town Pac-12 rival UCLA at San Luis Obispo Country Club in San Luis Obispo, Calif.

   At some point in Monday’s double-round, it became apparent that Southern Cal’s Gabriela Ruffels, a junior from Australia and No. 17 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), was injured and five-score-four was going to be four-score-four, no safety net, no room for somebody to have a bad day.

   Ruffels was one of the four freshmen on that 2017-2018 team. She pulled out a gutsy victory in the sweltering humidity of West Point, Miss. last summer when she drained a 10-foot birdie putt on the 36^th green to claim a 1-up victory over former Stanford star Albane Valenzuela and win the U.S. Women’s Amateur title.

   With Justin Silverstein replacing Gaston, who departed for Texas A&M, it was a disappointing spring in 2019 for Southern California. If you can call winning a team title in the Cle Elum Regional and reaching match play in the NCAA Championship at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. before falling to Pac-12 rival Arizona, a disappointing season.

   One of those four freshmen from two years ago, Jennifer Chang, the individual champion at Cle Elum last spring, departed for the Symetra Tour during the midseason break.

   But three other holdovers from that 2018 starting five, Amelia Garvey, a junior, from New Zealand and No. 31 in the Women’s WAGR, Alyaa Abdulghany, a junior from Newport Beach, Calif. and No. 40 in the Women’s WAGR, and Allisen Corpuz, a senior from Honolulu, Hawaii and No. 39 in the Women’s WAGR, along with Malia Nam, a sophomore from Kailua, Hawaii, were good enough to edge UCLA by two shots and claim the team title for the fifth time in the 11-year history of the Bruin Wave Invitational, which wrapped up Tuesday.

   Southern California, No. 2 in the latest Golfstat rankings, struggled to an opening round of 12-over-par 300 Monday morning with Ruffels coming to the realization that she could not continue at some point during that round. But they bounced back with a 6-under 282, easily the best team round of the tournament over the 6,103-yard, par-72 San Luis Obispo layout, in Monday afternoon’s second round to take control of the tournament.

   The Trojans gutted out an 8-over 296 in Tuesday’s final round for a 14-over 878 total. No. 14 UCLA closed with its second straight 4-over 292 to finish alone in second place at 16-over 880.

   Perennial Big Ten power Northwestern, ranked 42^nd, was Southern Cal’s closest pursuer through two rounds, the Wildcats posting scores of 292 and 293 in Monday’s double-round for a 9-over 585 total. Northwestern, behind individual co-champion Kelly Sim, a sophomore from Edgewater, N.J., closed with a 9-over 297 to finish in a tie for third place with another Pac-12 entry, No. 16 Oregon, at 18-over 882, two shots behind UCLA.

   It was another 17 shots back to Oregon’s cross-state and Pac-12 rival Oregon State, ranked 35^th, in fourth place at 35-over 899. The Beavers carded their best round of the tournament, a 5-over 293, in Tuesday’s final round.

   No. 48 Washington made it five Pac-12 teams among the top six in the 12-team field as the Huskies finished in sixth place, nine shots behind Oregon State at 44-over 908. Washington had started strong with an 8-over 296, but fell back with a 302 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 310 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Garvey, Abdulghany and Nam all finished among the top eight to lead the way for Southern Cal, the reigning Pac-12 champion.

   After struggling a little with an opening-round 75, Garvey contributed a 3-under 69 to the Trojans’ decisive second-round surge before matching par in Tuesday’s final round with a 72 to finish alone in fifth place in the individual standings at even-par 216.

   Abdulghany carded a pair of 1-under 71s in Monday’s double-round before closing with a 77 to finish three shots behind Garvey in sixth place at 3-over 219.

   Nam struggled to an opening-round 77, but came up huge by matching Garvey’s 3-under 69 in Monday afternoon’s second round. Nam finished up with a 3-over 75 that left her in a three-way tie for eighth place at 5-over 221.

   Corpuz is thought of highly enough to have been invited to audition for the United States Curtis Cup team in a practice session held at Loblolly in Hobe Sound, Fla. in December. After struggling in the opening round with a 77, Corpuz put together clutch rounds of 1-over 73 in Monday afternoon’s second round and an even-par 72 in Tuesday’s final round for a 6-over 222 that left her in the group tied for 11^th place.

   Great players come and go, even legendary coaches seek a new challenge somewhere else, but the attitude doesn’t seem to change for the Women of Troy.

   “I talked to Justin (Silverstein) about it and there were two ways we could look at it,” Garvey told the Southern California website. “We could play the victim or step up to the challenge. So, I think our mindset was huge. We were ready to take on the challenge and win.”

   The Trojans were coming off a team victory in the Rebel Beach Showdown at Spanish Trail Country Club in Las Vegas, Ruffels winning the individual crown. Southern Cal had opened the spring portion of the 2019-’20 season with a solid runnerup finish to reigning national champion Duke in an elite field at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.

   The Trojans have never missed match play since the NCAA Championship added that extra layer in 2015. Looks like they’re planning to be among the final eight still standing after stroke play this spring at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   UCLA suffered a pretty significant offseason loss when Patty Tavatanakit of Thailand headed for the Symetra Tour. But give Tavatanakit credit. She played out her sophomore season, winning the individual title in the East Lansing Regional and leading to Bruins to a spot in the team competition at The Blessings.

   A lot of college kids don’t want to wait until it’s almost summer to start their first pro campaign. Tavatanakit won three times on the Symetra Tour and easily qualified for the LPGA Tour as the second-leading money-winner in the Volvik Race for the Card.

   But they didn’t skip a beat in Westwood as the departure of Tavatanakit was considerably eased with the arrival of two of the top junior players in Europe and both figured prominently in the Bruins’ runnerup finish as the host team.

   Emma Spitz of Austria and No. 22 in the WAGR fired a final round of 3-under 69 to share medalist honors with Northwestern’s Sim at 5-under 211. Spitz had opened with a pair of 1-under 71s in Monday’s double-round.

   Sim had tied the tournament record by firing a 5-under 67 in Monday’s opening round and held a six-shot lead over the rest of the field after adding a 3-under 69 in the afternoon. Sim cooled off with a final-round 75 that enabled Spitz to catch her for a share of the individual title.

   The San Luis Obispo layout wasn’t yielding a lot of low scores and Spitz and Sim finished three shots clear of the rest of the field.

   Spitz’s fellow freshman star, Emilie Paltrinieri of Italy and No. 14 in the Women’s WAGR, gave the Bruins two of the top three finishers in the individual standings as she closed with a solid 3-under 69 to end up alone in third place at 2-under 214. Paltrinieri had registered scores of 73 and even-par 72 in Monday’s double-round.

   Oregon’s Briana Chacon, a freshman from Whittier, Calif., matched that tournament record with a sparkling 5-under 67 in Tuesday’s final round as she zoomed up the leaderboard to finish in fourth place at 1-under 215.

   And the list of top freshmen at UCLA from Europe doesn’t stop at Spitz and Paltrinieri. Annabel Wilson of Northern Ireland competed as an individual and finished alone in seventh place, a shot behind Southern Cal’s Abdulghany at 4-over 220. After opening with a 74, Wilson posted a 1-under 71 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a 75.

   Joining Southern Cal’s Nam in the trio tied for eighth place at 5-over 221 were Northwestern’s Brooke Riley, a senior from Manteca, Calif., and Pepperdine’s Momoka Kobori, a senior form New Zealand.

   Riley seems quite at home on golf courses in her native California. Last spring she captured the individual crown and led the Wildcats to the team title in the Silverado Showdown at the Silverado Resort & Spa in wine country in Napa.

   After opening with a 75, Riley carded a pair of 1-over 73s to land at 5-over. Kobori matched par in the final round with a 72 to join the group at 221.

Seton Hall, again chasing champion Arkansas State, finishes fourth in Rio Verde Invitational

   There was a lot about this weekend’s Rio Verde Invitational that was very familiar for Seton Hall.

The Pirates came to Rio Verde, Ariz. a year ago and saw the first day of the Rio Verde Invitational postponed by snow. The tournament was shortened to 36 holes.

   This time rain was the culprit, washing out Saturday’s scheduled second round. This time, though, everybody played two rounds Sunday to make it a full 54-hole tournament.

   Seton Hall also had one of the chief hurdles standing between it and a Big East Championship, Xavier, in the field at Rio Verde. Last spring, the Musketeers captured the conference crown with Seton Hall finishing 16 shot behind them in third place.

   A couple of weeks ago, Arkansas State rallied past Seton Hall to capture the team crown in the FAU Winter Warmup in Boca Raton, Fla. The Red Wolves were at it again in Rio Verde, rolling to a 12-shot victory over Northern Illinois. It’s the first time Arkansas State has won back-to-back tourney titles since the 2000-2001 season.

   Arkansas State trailed Xavier by two shots after carding an 11-over-par 299 over the 6,242-yard, par-72 White Wing Course at Rio Verde Country Club in Friday’s opening round. But the Red Wolves, behind 1-2 finishers Grayson Gladden, a senior from Helena, Ala., and Elise Schultz, a freshman from Pace, Fla., were solid in Sunday’s double-round with a 1-over 289 and a 4-over 292 that left them with a 16-over 880 total.

   Northern Illinois matched Arkansas State’s final-round 292 to earn runnerup honors at 28-over 892.

Then there was the tournament within the tournament for the two Big East teams and Xavier got the best of the Hall, the Musketeers grabbing third place with a 29-over 903 total. But the Pirates, at No. 73 in the latest Golfstat rankings the highest-ranked team in the Rio Verde field, were only three shots behind Xavier in fourth place with a 42-over 906 total.

   After its opening-round 297, Xavier struggled to a 305 in Sunday morning’s second round before closing out with a 301. Seton Hall got off to slow start with a 306 in Friday’s opening round and caught the Musketeers after two rounds with an 8-over 296 in Sunday morning’s second round before closing with a 304.

   Akron was another two shots behind Seton Hall in fifth place in the 18-team field at 44-over 908, the Zips closing with a 9-over 297.

   Gladden took control of the individual chase by adding a 2-under 70 Sunday morning to her opening-round 71 and then closed with a 2-over 74 for a 1-under 215 total that was one shot better than Schultz’s even-par 216 score. It was Gladden’s first collegiate tournament victory.

   Schultz was solid all weekend, adding a 1-under 71 to her opening-round 73 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Olivia Schmidt, a sophomore from Edmond, Okla., gave Arkansas State a third finisher in the top six as she finished alone in sixth place at 5-over 221. After opening with a 76, Schmidt contributed a 2-under 70 to the Red Wolves’ second-round surge before closing with a 3-over 75.

   Maria Jose Atristain Vega, a junior from Mexico, closed with a solid 1-under 71 to join the group tied for 28^th place at 228. Rounding out the Arkansas State lineup was Madison Smith, a sophomore from Moore, Okla. whose final-round 77 was her best round of the weekend and left her among the group tied for 68^th place at 238.

   Akron’s Jacinta Pikunas, a redshirt sophomore from Youngstown, Ohio, finished third in the team standings at 2-over 218, two shots behind Arkansas State’s Schultz. Pikunas was at even-par 144 after carding a 1-under 71 in Sunday morning’s second round before finishing up with a 2-over 74.

   Northern Illinois’ Jasmine Ly, a freshman from Canada, finished alone in fourth place a shot behind Pikunas at 3-over 219. Ly added a pair of even-par 72s to her opening-round 75. Boise State’s Lexi Perry, a junior from El Dorado Hills, Calif., was another shot behind Ly in sixth place at 5-over 221 after closing with the low round of the tournament, a 3-under 69.

   Ly’s Northern Illinois teammate, Ahra Ko, a sophomore from Suwanee, Ga., and Jasmine Chee, a senior from Hong Kong for tournament host Western Michigan, finished in a tie for seventh place, a shot behind Arkansas State’s Schmidt at 6-over 222.

   Ko was solid in Sunday’s double-round, matching par with a 72 in the morning and closing with a 1-over 73. Chee opened strong, matching par in Friday’s opening round with a 72 and adding rounds of 74 and 76 in Sunday’s double-round.

   Leading the way for Seton Hall was Lizzie Win, a senior from Sylvania, Ohio who landed among the large group tied for ninth place at 7-over 223. Win was just a shot out of the individual lead after firing a pair of 1-under 71s in the first two rounds before struggling to a final-round 81. Still, there was a lot of good golf from a player who has been a stalwart for the Pirates. It was Win’s 16^th career top-10 finish, one shy of the program record.

   Junior Mia Kness, the 2016 PIAA Class AAA champion as a senior at Peters Township, struggled in Friday’s opening round with a 79, but matched par with a 72 in Sunday morning’s second round before closing with a 75 that left her among the group tied for 22^nd place at 10-over 226.

   Senior Sammie Staudt, a four-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier at Coatesville, closed with a 2-over 74 to land in the group tied for 38^th place at 231. Carolina Ronchel Salas, a senior from Spain, was a shot behind Staudt in the group tied for 42^nd place at 232. Ronchel Salas posted a solid 2-over 74 in Sunday morning’s second round, but struggled to an 80 in the final round in the afternoon.

   Senior Maddie Sager, the 2015 PIAA Class AAA runnerup as a senior at Owen J. Roberts, couldn’t solve the White Wing Course in the first two rounds, adding an 80 Sunday morning to her opening-round 82. But she finished up strong with a 3-over 75 to land among the group tied for 61^st place at 237.

   Sarah Fouratt, a sophomore from Santa Maria, Calif., competed as an individual at Rio Verde and had the best round by a Seton Hall player in Sunday afternoon’s final round, a 1-over 73 that left her in a tie for 26^th place at 11-over 227.

   One of the highlights of Seton Hall’s fall campaign was the Nittany Lion Invitational at which Sager and Fouratt were two of the three individual co-champions, their first college tournament victories. Fouratt might have found a little of that form this week in the desert.