Stark cruises to individual title and leads Oklahoma State to team crown in Heroes Ladies Intercollegiate

    Last week in the opener of their spring campaign, Maja Stark, a sophomore from Sweden and No. 8 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and Oklahoma State had runnerup finishes in the respective individual and team standings in the Trinity Forest Invitational, hosted by SMU at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, Texas.

   This week, Stark and the Cowgirls did those performances one better as Stark left no doubt on her way to a six-shot victory in claiming individual honors and Oklahoma State rallied in Tuesday’s final round to overtake Mississippi for a two-shot victory in the Heroes Ladies Intercollegiate, hosted by Purdue at The Founders Club in Sarasota, Fla.

   Purdue had traditionally hosted the Lady Puerto Rico Classic early in the spring portion of the season, but moved the event to the mainland at The Founders Club. The Heroes benefits the Army Ranger Lead The Way Fund, which benefits U.S. Army Rangers and the families of those who have died, been disabled or who are currently serving in harm’s way around the world.

   Mississippi, which won the last Southeastern Conference championship that was contested in the spring of 2019, was making its debut for the spring portion of the wraparound 2020-2021 season. Ole Miss played a limited fall schedule, but capped it with a big win, capturing the East Lake Cup with a 3-2 victory over SEC rival South Carolina in the final. That victory left the Rebels No. 4 in the Golfstat rankings, the highest ranking ever achieved by the program.

   Ole Miss pretty much picked up where it left off last fall, opening with a 4-under-par 284 over the 6,261-yard, par-72 Founders Club layout Sunday. The Rebels added a solid 9-under 279 in Monday’s second round to take a four-shot lead over Oklahoma State into Tuesday’s final round.

   But the Cowgirls, out of the Big 12, carded a 6-under 282 in the final round for a 15-under 849 total while Ole Miss matched par with a 288 to end up two shots behind the Rebels at 13-under 851. Oklahoma State, No. 10 at the end of the fall campaign, had matched par in the opening round with a 288 and matched Mississippi’s 9-under 279 in the second round to get within four of the Rebels heading into the final round.

   It was pretty much a two-horse race, although Ole Miss’ SEC rival, Georgia, ranked No. 6, took third place, 13 shots behind the Rebels at even-par 864. The Bulldogs have been something of a sleeping giant the last few years, but, after struggling a little in the opening round at the Founders Club with a 7-over 295, they ripped off the best team round of the tournament, an 11-uneder 277 in Monday’s second round. Georgia closed with a 4-over 292.

   Oklahoma State’s Big 12 rival Iowa State outperformed its No. 33 ranking as the Cyclones finished three shots behind Georgia in fourth place at 3-over 867. Iowa State opened with a 3-over 291 and added a 5-under 283 before closing with a 5-over 293.

   Perennial Big Ten power Northwestern and Virginia Tech, out of the tough Atlantic Coast Conference, shared fifth place in a strong 15-team field, each landing on 10-over 874, seven shots behind Iowa State. The Big Ten and the ACC both shut down golf for the fall campaign, so the Heroes was the season debut for the Hokies while the Wildcats got in a tuneup dual match with Big Ten rival Ohio State last month.

   Northwestern, which is always good, opened with a 4-over 292 and added a 1-over 289 before finishing up with a 5-over 293. Virginia Tech added a 2-over 290 to its opening-round 295 before closing with its best round of the tournament, a 1-over 289.

   Stark took control of the individual race right from the start as she rattled off a pair of sizzling 6-under 66s in the first two rounds, taking a two-shot lead over Iowa State’s Charley Jacobs, a freshman from Australia, into the final round. Stark had eight bridies against two bogeys in the opening round and had an efficient six-birdie, no-bogey loop around The Founders Club in the second round.

   Stark had two bogeys and her only double bogey of the week on her scorecard in the final round, but balanced that out with seven more birdies, including one at the last, for a final round of 3-under 69. Her 15-under 201 total ties the Oklahoma State record held by her teammate Isabella Fierro, a sophomore from Mexico. Fierro was not in the lineup for the Heroes, which means the Cowgirls can be even better.

   Backing up Stark for Oklahoma State was Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, a freshman from Australia who carded her second straight 2-under 70 in the final round to join a trio of players tied for seventh place at 3-under 213.

   Lianna Bailey, a junior from England coming off a tie for ninth place at Trinity Forest, was solid again, closing with a 1-under 71 to finish in a tie for 11^th place at 1-under 215.

   Han-Hsuan Yu, a junior from Taiwan, matched par in the final round with a 72, the Cowgirls’ crucial final counter, to land among the group tied for 31^st place at 7-over 223. Rounding out the Oklahoma State lineup was Hailey Jones, a sophomore from Dallas who finished in a tie for 59^th place at 230. Although Jones struggled to an 81 in the final round, she came up big for the Cowgirls with her 1-over 73 in the second round.

   Mississippi was led by its two veterans as Julia Johnson, a graduate student from St. Gabriel, La., and Kennedy Swann, a senior from Austin, Texas, went 2-3 in the individual standings.

   Johnson, who pulled out a tough match to give Ole Miss the winning point in the East Lake Cup and run her college match-play record to 8-0, only trailed Stark by one after an opening round of 5-under 67. Johnson was four behind Stark after a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round and her final round of 1-under 71 left her alone in second place at 9-under 207, six shots behind the winner.

   Johnson is one of the many players who saw the spring of their senior seasons come to a sudden end last March and accepted the NCAA’s offer for another year of eligibility to make up for that lost spring.

   Swann was three shots behind her teammate in a tie for third place with Georgia’s Caterina Don, a sophomore from Italy and No. 33 in the Women’s WAGR, at 6-under 210.

   Swann was one of a dozen women who gathered last month at Lake Nona Golf & Country Club in Orlando to audition for a spot on the United States team for the rescheduled 2021 Curtis Cup Match, which will be played in August at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire, Wales. Swann opened with a 4-under 68 and added a 69 before cooling off with a 1-over 73 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Don struggled in the opening round with a 3-over 75, but responded with the best round of the tournament, a scintillating 8-under 64 in Monday’s second round. Don’s final-round 71 left her in the tie with Swann.

   Illinois’ Crystal Wang, a junior from Diamond Bar, Calif., finished alone in fifth place, a shot behind Swann and Don at 5-under 211. Wang sandwiched a 3-under 69 with a pair of 1-under 71s. Virginia Tech’s Becca DiNunzio, a sophomore from Norfolk, Va., was a shot behind Wang in sixth place at 4-under 212. DiNunzio started slowly with a 3-over 75 before coming on strong with a 4-under 68 in the second round a 3-under 69 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Iowa State’s Jacobs joined Oklahoma State’s Hinson-Tolchard and Tennessee’s Mikayla Bardwell, a junior from Lewisville, Texas, in the trio tied for second seventh place at 3-under 213. Jacobs added a sparkling 7-under 65 to her opening-round 69 to get within two shots of Stark before stumbling in the final round with a 79.

   Bardwell registered a pair of 1-over 73s in the first two rounds before finishing strong with a 5-under 67.

   Rounding out the top 10 was Don’s Georgia teammate, Jo Hua Hung, a junior from Taipei who finished alone in 10^th place at 2-under 214. Hung added a 3-under 69 to her opening-round 71 to get it to 4-under through two rounds before closing with a 2-over 74.