Matthews, Arkansas are runaway winners on their home course in The Blessings Invitational

    Arkansas had a little rebuilding to do after a triumphant 2018-2019 season in which Maria Fassi capped her college career by winning the NCAA individual crown and leading the Razorbacks into match play in the team competition on their home course at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.

   Arkansas was certainly in position to make a strong postseason run, ranked No. 19 by Golfstat when the coronavirus pandemic blew up the 2019-’20 season in March.

   Arkansas was right at home at The Blessings again last week, teeing it up with their Southeastern Conference rivals in The Blessings Intercollegiate Invitational. And this Arkansas team looks quite capable of repeating the kind of run the Razorbacks embarked on in the spring of 2019 when the NCAA Championship is – hopefully – contested next spring at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   Brooke Matthews, a redshirt junior from Rogers, Ark., is a veteran of that 2019 run, which was halted by eventual runnerup Wake Forest in the quarterfinals. Matthews and Fassi accounted for the two Arkansas wins in a 3-2 loss to the Demon Deacons.

   Appearing quite comfortable on her home course, Matthews lapped the field in winning the individual title by five shots with a 10-under 206 total. It was her second career tournament win.

   Matthews led the way for a dominating team victory for Arkansas as the Razorbacks matched par in the final round with a 288 over the 6,171-yard, par-72 Blessings layout for an even-par 864 total that was 18 shots clear of runnerup LSU. Arkansas was right around par all week, opening with a 1-over 289 and adding a 1-under 287 before closing with an even-par round.

   And Matthews, No. 4 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), was clearly the leading lady in the Razorbacks’ effort. She opened with a 5-under 67 before adding a career-best 6-under 66 in the second round. She cooled off with a final round of 1-over 73 to easily grab the individual title with her impressive 10-under total.

   LSU, which was at No. 13 in the Golfstat rankings when the 2019-’20 season came to a premature end, was the best of the rest in The Blessings Intercollegiate. After opening with back-to-back rounds of 5-over 293, the Tigers closed with a 296 to earn runnerup honors with an 18-under 882 total, 18 shots behind Arkansas.

   South Carolina was the highest-ranked SEC team last March when the pandemic arrived at No. 7. After a tough start last week with a 305 in the opening round, the Gamecocks matched the low team round of the tournament with a 1-under 287 in the second round. South Carolina closed with a solid 293 to finish three shots behind LSU in third place at 21-over 885.

   Mississippi, which backed up its surprise SEC title in 2019 by earning a trip to The Blessings for the NCAA Championship, was No. 12 when the 2019-’20 season was halted. Ole Miss closed with its best round of the week, a 3-over 291, to finish in fourth place at The Blessings last week with a 24-over 888 total that left it three shots behind South Carolina.

   It was seven shots back to Georgia in fifth place at 31-over 895 after its best round of the week, a 9-over 297, in the final round. The Bulldogs have been down by their standards in the last couple of seasons, but they won’t stay down for long.

   It was seven more shots back to Florida, which was ranked ninth in the middle of March when the season came to a sudden end, at 38-over 902. The Gators opened with a solid 7-over 295, but fell back with a 304 and a 303 in the second and third rounds, respectively.

   It was a youthful foursome of Razorbacks in the lineup behind Matthews. Cory Lopez, a freshman from Mexico, the latest in a line of Arkansas standouts from Mexico that includes Gaby Lopez and Fassi, finished among the group tied for 11^th place with a 6-over 222 total. Lopez opened by matching par with a 72, struggled a little in the second round with a 77, but bounced back with a 1-over 73 in the final round.

   Sophomores Julia Gregg of Farmer’s Branch, Texas and Kajal Mistry of South Africa were among the group tied for 18^th place at 8-over 224. Both saved their best for last as Gregg matched par in the final round with a 72 while Mistry’s 2-under 70 in the final round was the best of the day for Arkansas.

   Rounding out the Arkansas lineup was Ela Anacona, a sophomore from Argentina who finished among the group tied  for 23^rd  place at 9-over 225. Her best round was a 1-under 71 during the Razorbacks’ 1-under second round.

   The only player within shouting distance of Matthews in the individual chase was LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad, a sophomore from Sweden who is one spot ahead of Matthews in the Women’s WAGR at No. 3. Lindblad matched Matthews’ opening-round 67 and added a 1-under 71 before closing with a 73 to finish alone in second place at 5-under 211, five shots behind Matthews, but five shots clear of the rest of the field.

   Finishing in third place at even-par 216 was South Carolina graduate student Pimnipa Panthong, the standout from Thailand who was the leading lady for the Kent State program for four years. Panthong, No. 35 in the Women’s WAGR, took advantage of the NCAA’s offer of an extra year of eligibility because the pandemic cut last season short and is a huge addition for the Gamecocks.

   Panthong’s class was on display in the final round as she fired the best round of the day, a sparkling 4-under 68 that enabled her to make a big move up the leaderboard.

   Florida’s Marina Escobar Domingo was a shot behind Panthong in fourth place at 1-over 217. After opening with a 74, Escobar Domingo registered a 1-under 71 in the second round before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Lindblad’s LSU teammate, Latanna Stone, a sophomore from Riverview, Fla., took fifth place at 2-over 218. Stone opened with a 74 and added a 1-under 71 in the middle round before closing with a 73.

   Kentucky’s Laney Frye, a freshman from Lexington, Ky., and Alabama’s Polly Mack, a senior from Germany, shared sixth place, each landing on 3-over 219. Frye got off to a good start with an opening round of 1-under 71 and closed with a solid even-par 72, but struggled little in the second round with a 76. Mack matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-under 71 in the second round before struggling to a 76 in the final round.

   Another South Carolina standout, Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, a sophomore from France and No. 4 in the Women’s WAGR, finished in eighth place at 4-over 220. Roussin-Bouchard struggled in the opening round with a 78, but bounced back with a 2-under 70 in the second round before finishing up by matching par with a 72.