Southern California's veterans deliver another Pac-12 Championship victory

    They were the kids back in 2018 when some midseason personnel losses left the Southern California lineup with four freshmen and a sophomore.

   Maybe they just didn’t know any better, but they just kept going until they finally fell one win short  of the NCAA Championship’s Final Match, losing to a powerful Alabama team at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.

   Maybe that’s why Allisen Corpuz, the veteran on that team as a sophomore, came back for a fifth year when offered that option by the NCAA to make up for the spring of her senior season stolen by the sudden arrival of the coronavirus pandemic and the equally sudden end to the wraparound 2019-2020 season.

   I’m thinking nothing short of a national championship for the Women of Troy will do for Corpuz, a graduate student from Honolulu, Hawaii and No. 11 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

   Southern California, No. 10 in latest Golfstat rankings, took the first small step toward its ultimate goal with a five-shot victory over Stanford and a host of other talented challengers in the Pac-12 Championship, which wrapped up Sunday at the Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif.

   Amelia Garvey, a senior from New Zealand and No. 30 in the Women’s WAGR, was one of the freshmen in 2018. Garvey was the runnerup to Stanford’s Rachel Heck, a freshman from Memphis, Tenn. and No. 9 in the Women’s WAGR, in the individual chase, finishing two shots behind Heck with a 5-under-par total over the 6,269-yard, par-71 Stanford layout.

   Alyaa Abdulghany, a senior from Newport Beach, Calif. and No. 42 in the Women’s WAGR, is the third holdover still around from that starting lineup at Karsten Creek and she finished alone in 12^th place in the Pac-12 Championship with a 4-over 217 total.

   Had a feeling I wasn’t going to get to this until after the NCAA regional fields were announced. And Southern California and Stanford, which moved up from No. 26 to No. 20 after its runnerup showing in the Pac-12 Championship, and No. 22 Arizona, which won the national championship three springs ago at Karsten Creek, will be right back at the Stanford Golf Course when the Stanford Regional tees off May 10.

   I suspect the Pac-12 schools aren’t completely thrilled with their seedings at Stanford, with the Trojans seeded third, the Cardinal seeded fifth and the Wildcats seeded sixth, but once the ball is in the air, the seedings won’t matter one bit. Look for several of the teams that teed it up in the Pac-12 Championship last week to be in the field when the field convenes for the NCAA Championship May 21 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   Southern California, which captured the title the last time the Pac-12 Championship was contested in 2019, was a wire-to-wire winner this year, but its pursuers kept the heat on the whole time.

   The Trojans opened with a 2-over 283 and added a 3-over 287 in Saturday’s second round to take a four-shot lead over No. 7 Arizona State going into Sunday’s final round. Stanford added a 2-over 286 to its opening-round 289 and was a shot behind the Sun Devils in third place and just five shots behind Southern Cal.

   Southern California and Stanford then closed with identical 5-under 279s. That gave the Trojans a 3-under 849 total with Stanford still five back in second place with a 2-over 854 total.

   Arizona State added a 1-over 285 to its opening round of 7-over 291 before closing with a 2-over 286 to finish six shots behind Stanford in third place with an 8-over 860 total. The Sun Devils are seeded second in the Columbus Regional at The Ohio State University’s challenging Scarlet Course.

   The last two national champions that the Pac-12 produced were the Sun Devils in 2017 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill. and Arizona in 2018 at Karsten Creek. Neither won the Pac-12 title in its national championship season. And both are dangerous in 2021.

   Arizona opened with a 7-over 291 before posting a pair of 1-over 285s to finish in fourth place, a shot behind its cross-state rival with a 9-over 861 total.

   UCLA, which moved up a couple of spots in the Golfstat rankings from No. 27 to No. 25, and Oregon, which dropped a spot from No. 12 to No. 13, finished in a tie for fifth place in the 10-team field, each landing on 23-over 875, 14 shots behind Arizona.

   The Bruins added a 6-over 290 to their opening-round 291 before finishing up with a 10-over 294. The Ducks struggled a little in the first two rounds, adding an 11-over 295 to their opening-round 297, but came on strong in the final round with a 1-under 283. UCLA is seeded seventh in the Louisville Regional at the University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Ky. and Oregon is seeded fourth in the Baton Rouge Regional at LSU’s home course, the University Club in Baton Rouge, La.

   Garvey, the runnerup in The Women’s Amateur Championship in 2019 at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland, shared the individual lead after opening with a 4-under 67. She fell back a little with a 1-over 72 in Saturday’s second round, but closed with a 2-under 69 to end up at 5-under in second place.

   Malia Nam, a junior from Kailua, Hawaii, backed up Garvey for the Trojans as she opened with a solid 3-under 68 and added a 1-over 72 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 2-under 69 that left her in a tie for third place, a shot behind Garvey at 4-under 209.

   Abdulghany, who made a run to the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., was typically solid for the Trojans, adding a 74 to her opening-round 73 before contributing a 2-under 70 to Southern Cal’s strong final-round showing that left her alone in 12^th place.

   Corpuz landed in a tie for 15^th place at 7-over 220 as she added a 74 to her opening-round 75 before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   Brianna Navarrosa, a freshman from San Diego, gave Southern Cal five players in the top 20 as she ended up among the group tied for 20^th place at 9-over 222. Navarrosa, coming off an outstanding junior career, opened with an 80, but quickly put it behind her, contributing a huge 2-under 69 in Saturday’s second round that was the best round of the day for the Trojans. Navarrosa closed with a 2-over 74.

   Southern Cal lost one other holdover from that youthful group that reached the semifinals at Karsten Creek when Aussie Gabriela Ruffels decided to turn pro during what would normally be considered the midseason break. There was no fall portion of the wraparound 2020-’21 season for the Pac-12 players and many others around the country due to the ongoing pandemic.

   Ruffels had lost to Rose Zhang in an epic U.S. Women’s Amateur final at Woodmont last summer after winning a U.S. Women’s Amateur title in 2018 at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss. It was time for Ruffels to get on with her pro career. I suspect, however, that there is no bigger fan of this Southern Cal team at this moment than Gabi Ruffels.

   Somehow, Stanford’s Heck seems underrated, despite a glittering junior record. Not only did she qualify for the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., she made the cut and finished in a tie for 33^rd place. It was so long ago, you can’t even find the age references anymore, but I’m pretty sure she was all of 15.

   Even the people at the Women’s WAGR seem to agree that Heck was underrated after she added a pair of 2-under 69s to her opening round of 3-under 68 to capture the Pac-12 individual title by two shots with a 7-under 206 total. Heck, the qualifying medalist in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Woodmont, zoomed up 10 spots in the Women’s WAGR into the top 10 at No. 9 following her Pac-12 individual triumph.

   Heck was not invited to the practice session in late January for this summer’s rescheduled Curtis Cup Match at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire, Wales, but, assuming she’s interested in seeing Wales in August, I’d have to think Heck is earning some consideration to make the U.S. team.

   Joining Southern California’s Nam in the tie for third place at 4-under 209 was Arizona’s Yu-Sang Hou, a senior from Taiwan who added a 3-under 68 to her opening-round 71 before closing with a 70.

   Arizona State’s Linn Grant, a sophomore from Sweden and, at No. 2 in the Women’s WAGR, the highest-ranked player in the field, bounced back from an opening-round 73 with a 2-under 69 in Saturday’s second round and a 3-under 68 in Sunday’s final round to get a share of fifth place with Oregon’s Briana Chacon, a sophomore from Whittier, Calif.

   Chacon matched par in the first two rounds with a pair of 71s before closing with a 3-under 68 to join Grant at 3-under.

   Heck isn’t the only talented youngster on the Stanford roster. Angelina Ye, a sophomore from Bradenton, Fla., finished in a tie for seventh place with UCLA’s Annabel Wilson, a sophomore from Northern Ireland and No. 83 in the Women’s WAGR, at 1-under 212. Ye, a native of China, won the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in 2019 at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis. After matching par in the opening round with a 71, Ye struggled a little in a second-round 74 before firing a 4-under 67 in the final round, low-Cardinal for the day, to get it to 1-under.

   Wilson struggled in the opening round with a 74, but bounced back with a 1-under 70 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up with a 3-under 68.

   Arizona State’s other sophomore Swede, Amanda Linner, matched Garvey’s opening-round 67 to get a share of the lead. After matching par with a 71 in Saturday’s second round, she backed off in the final round with a 75 to finish alone in ninth place at even-par 213.

   UCLA’s Emma Spitz, a sophomore from Austria and No. 16 in the Women’s WAGR, fired back-to-back 3-under 68s in the first two rounds and stood atop the individual leaderboard going into Sunday’s final round. Spitz, who got a lot of air time in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship earlier this month, struggled to a 78 in the final round to finish in a tie for 10^th place with Arizona’s Vivian Hou, a sophomore from Taiwan, at 1-over 214.

   Spitz and Heck were two of the six players who finished in a tie for third place at Augusta National.

   Vivian Hou was steady all weekend, adding a pair of even-par 71s to her opening-round 72 to get a piece of 10^th place with Spitz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a major moment for Sunnybrook's Walker after strong finish in PGA Professional Championship

    Brett Walker, an assistant pro at Sunnybrook Golf Club, has specialized in strong finishes at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. in 2021.

   In February, Walker fired an 8-under-par 63 at the PGA Golf Club’s Ryder Course to force a playoff with PGA Life Member and former PGA Tour performer Omar Uresti in the PGA Stroke Play Championship. Walker won the playoff for his first professional victory.

   Wednesday, Walker closed with a 2-under 70 at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course to finish in a tie for eighth place at even-par 287 in the PGA Professional Championship. More importantly, Walker was among the top-20 finishers who earned a ticket to next month’s PGA Championship, one of the four professional majors in men’s golf, at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island on the South Carolina coast.

   Walker began the day on the outside looking in after a 3-over 75 over the 7,088-yard, par-72 Wanamaker Course layout in Tuesday’s third round left him among the group tied for 34^th place at 2-over.

   Walker got off to an uneven start on a Wanamaker Course that seemed to play pretty tough in the final round of the PGA Professional Championship – I prefer the event’s old-school moniker, the National Club Pro -- as he made bogeys at the second and fourth holes after opening with a birdie at the first hole.

   But he made four birdies over the next six holes to go from 1-over on his round to 3-under. Walker made birdies at the fifth, seventh, eighth and 10^th holes. After a bogey at the 12^th hole dropped Walker back to 2-under for the round, he grinded out six straight pars to get to the house with an even-par 287 total.

   Walker was steady all week as he opened with a 1-over 72 at the Ryder Course before carding a 2-under 70 at the Wanamaker Course in Monday’s second round. Even his bad round, the third-round 75, wasn’t bad enough to knock him out of the chase for one of those coveted top-20 tickets to the PGA.

   Things did not go as well for two other Philadelphia Section PGA representatives who entered Wednesday’s final round with a realistic shot at a top-20 finish.

   Bidermann Golf Club instructor Zac Oakley began the day in a tie for 20^th place at even-par. But Oakley struggled to a 5-over 77 to end up among the group tied for 40^th place at 5-over 292.

   Overbrook Golf Club assistant pro Trevor Bensel was tied for 28^th place at 1-over at the start of the day, but he, too, struggled on the Wanamaker Course with a 79 that left him in the group tied for 55^th place at 8-over 295.

   A fourth Philly Section pro, Hugo Mazzalupi, one of the Section’s talented senior players who plays out of the Patriots Glen National Golf Club pro shop, finished in a tie for 71^st place at 300 after signing for a final-round 81. Surviving two cuts and playing 72 holes in the PGA Professional Championship isn’t a bad accomplishment out of a field 312 club professionals from all around the country.

   Tom Cooper, who earned his trip to the PGA Professional Championship with a runnerup finish in the Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship last September at the Country Club of York and Bent Creek Country Club in Lititz, entered the final round tied for 14^th place at 1-under.

   But Cooper, who appears to have moved on from his position in the Pine Valley Golf Club pro shop, finished up with a 78 to join Bidermann’s Oakley in a tie for 40^th place at 5-over 292.

   Uresti started the day with a seven-shot lead on the field after scorching the Wanamaker Course with a 7-under 65 in Tuesday’s third round. The 52-year-old gave some players some hope when he went bogey, double bogey, bogey at the second, third and fourth holes, respectively.

   When Frank Bensel Jr., an assistant pro at the Century Country Club in Purchase, N.Y., drained a 30-footer for birdie at the 13^th hole, he was within two shots of Uresti. But when Uresti birdied the 16^th hole while Frank Bensel Jr. was making bogey at the 18^th hole a couple of groups ahead of him, Uresti’s lead was four shots.

   Uresti struggled to a final round of 4-over 76, but his 11-under 276 total was three shots better than Frank Bensel Jr. and enabled Uresti to lift the Walter Hagen Cup for the second time in his career. Uresti defeated Applebrook Golf Club head pro Dave McNabb in a playoff to win the National Club Pro in 2017.

   It will be Uresti’s fifth trip to the PGA Championship, but his first since appearing in the PGA Tour major five straight times from 2014 to 1018. Uresti will have another major moment next month when he appears in the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship, a PGA Tour Champions major, at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. Uresti punched his ticket to the Senior PGA by winning the Senior PGA Professional Championship last fall at the PGA Golf Club.

   Frank Bensel Jr. finished with a 4-under 68, one of just two sub-70 rounds recorded in Wednesday’s final round, to carn runnerup honors with an 8-under 279 total. Frank Bensel Jr. will be making his third trip to the PGA Championship, but his first since 2012.

   Ben Cook, an instructor at Yankee Springs in Wayland, Mich., was hanging around the top of the leaderboard all week and posted a final round of 2-over 74 to finish two shots behind Frank Bensel Jr. in third place with a 6-under 281 total.

   Larkin Gross, a 23-year-old from Center Cross, Va., was another two shots behind Cook in fourth place at 4-under 283 after closing with a 4-over 76. Gross, who starred collegiately at Division III power Methodist, got into contention with a spectacular 8-under 64 in Tuesday’s third round.

   The best round of the day in Wednesday’s final round belonged to Stuart Smith, the director of golf at Somersett Golf & Country Club in Reno, Nev. who fired a sizzling 7-under 65 that enabled him to finish in a tie for sixth place at 1-under 286.

 

 

 

 

Michigan State has finishing kick to take Big Ten crown; Nebraska's Smith the individual champion

    Going into Sunday’s final round of the Big Ten Championship at TPC River’s Bend in Maineville, Ohio, the team crown was up for grabs with five teams within 10 shots of each other.

   By the end of the day, it was Stacy Slobodnik-Stoll’s Michigan State Spartans that had grabbed the brass ring, winning its third Big Ten crown since 2017 and 14^th overall, 11 of them under Slobodnik-Stoll.

   Maybe Michigan State, No. 41 in the latest Golfstat rankings, was concerned that it might not get an at-large bid into the NCAA regionals. Well, the Spartans took care of that, their five-shot victory over three teams tied for second giving them the Big Ten’s automatic spot into the NCAA field.

   Michigan State had opened with a 2-under 286 at TPC River’s Bend and added a 7-under 281. The Spartans were tied for the top spot with surprising Maryland, which at No. 19, was the highest-ranked team in the field. But a final round of 2-under 286 with the conference crown on the line gave Michigan State an 11-under 853 total.

   The Terrapins, enjoying their best season since joining the Big Ten, had opened with a 1-under 287 before adding an 8-under 280, the best team round of the tournament, in the second round that enabled them to join Michigan State at the top of the team leaderboard. Maryland closed with a 3-over 291 to fall back into a tie for second place with Michigan, which saw its ranking drop a little from No. 23 to No. 25, and No. 55 Nebraska, which made a big final-round move behind Kate Smith, a senior from Detroit Lakes, Mich. who fired a breathtaking 8-under 64 over the 6,300-yard, par-72 TPC River’s Bend layout. Maryland, Michigan and Nebraska all ended up with a 6-under 858 total.

   Michigan had opened with a 2-over 290, but added back-to-back 4-under 284s to get its share of second place. Nebraska had opened with a 5-over 293, but improved to a 4-under 284 in the second round before posting the low team round of Sunday’s final round, a 7-under 281, to get a piece of runnerup honors.

   Perennial Big Ten power Northwestern, which saw its ranking drop from No. 21 to No. 30, was nine shots behind the three teams tied for second place as the Wildcats ended up with a 3-over 867 total. Northwestern added a 2-under 286 to its opening round of 3-over 291 and was 10 shots behind Michigan State and Maryland heading into Sunday’s final round.

   The Wildcats were unable to mount a final-round charge, posting a 2-over 290, but Northwestern will be a team to be reckoned with, no matter where their NCAA regional journey sends them.

   It was another 14 shots back to No. 72 Penn State in sixth place in the 13-team field at 17-over 881, but that effort capped a very encouraging spring for the Nittany Lions. After opening with a 297, they registered back-to-back 4-over 292s for their highest finish since Denise St. Pierre’s 2014 team landed in fourth place.

   The Big Ten would not allow its golf teams to compete in the fall due to ongoing coronavirus pandemic, so it was a spring sprint to last weekend’s conference championship. But considering that the pandemic shut down college golf completely in the spring of 2020, I’m sure everybody at TPC River’s Bend was happy to get a chance to tee it up in the Big Ten Championship.

   None more so than Michigan State. The Spartans were led by Valery Plata, a junior from Colombia and No. 57 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). After opening with a 75, Plata, who made a run to the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md. last summer, ripped off back-to-back 4-under 68s to finish in a tie for third place in the individual standings with a 5-under 211 total, four shots behind the champion Smith.

   Paz Marfa Sans, a graduate student from Spain, took up the NCAA on its offer of a fifth year of eligibility to make up for the spring of her senior season stolen by the pandemic and she made that extra season count. Marfa Sans, who finished fourth in the last Big Ten Championship contested two springs ago at TPC River’s Bend, matched par in the first two rounds with a pair of 72s before contributing a 2-under 70 to the Spartans’ final-round push to the title. Marfa Sans finished alone in eighth place in the individual standings with a 2-under 214 total.

   Michigan State got strong showings from the two freshmen in its lineup as Leila Raines of Galena, Ohio finished among the group tied for 11^th place at even-par 216 after getting herself in contention for the individual title through two rounds, and Valentina Rossi of Argentina ended up in the group tied for 14^th place at 1-over 217.

   Raines’ 3-under 69 was the best round of the day for the Spartans in Friday’s first round. She added a 1-under 71 and trailed Maryland’s Laura Van Respaille, a senior from France, by just a shot in the individual chase before struggling to a 76 in the final round. Rossi added a solid 2-under 70 to her opening-round 74 before closing with a 1-over 73 and all three of her rounds were counters for Michigan State.

   Yurika Tanada, a senior from Japan, gave the Spartans a fifth finisher in the top 20 as she landed in a tie for 20^th place at 4-over 220. Tanada matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 1-over 73 before closing with a 75. All three rounds were counters.

   The Big Ten allows six players in the lineup for the conference championship and Haylin Harris, a junior from Carmel, Ind. was the Spartans’ sixth. Harris struggled a little at TPC River’s Bend adding a 74 to her opening round of 1-over 73 before closing with an 80 that left her in the group tied for 45^th place at 227.

   But Harris was good enough to qualify for match play in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Woodmont, falling in the first round to Plata in a Sparty vs. Sparty opening-round match. Harris can play.

   So too, can Nebraska’s Smith. With The Golf Channel’s cameras rolling at Champions Retreat Golf Club, Smith had the lead in the first round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship earlier this month. The cameras were still on when she cooled off, eventually failing to advance out of the playoff for the final spot in the top 30 for the final round at Augusta National Golf Club.

   Rather than discourage her, the experience only seems to have energized Smith. She trailed Van Respaille by four shots after matching par in the opening round with a 72 and adding a 1-under 71 in the second round.

   Smith unfurled a brilliant eight-birdie, no-bogey final-round 64 to blow by Van Respaille and the rest of the field, finishing with a 9-under 207 total. The 64 matched her program record as she became the first Cornhusker to claim a Big Ten individual title.

   Northwestern’s Irene Kim, a sophomore from La Palma, Calif. and No. 73 in the Women’s WAGR, had a pretty nifty final round of her own, a 5-under 67 that enabled her to claim runnerup honors with a 6-under 210 total, three shots behind Smith. Kim had opened with a 73 before adding a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s second round.

   Joining Plata in the tie for third place at 5-under 211 was Michigan’s Ashley Lau, a junior from Malaysia who added a pair of 2-under 70s to her opening-round 71.

   Maryland’s Xialin Tan, a graduate student from China, finished alone in fifth place at 4-under 212 as she matched par in the opening round with a 72 and fired a 3-under 69 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 1-under 71.

   Tan’s teammate, Van Respaille, had added a 3-under 69 to her opening-round 70 to grab the individual lead going into the final round. She backed off a little with a 2-over 74 in the final round to finish in a tie for sixth place with Penn State’s Sarah Willis, a junior from Eaton, Ohio, at 3-under 213.

   It seems like forever ago that Willis burst onto the scene with a smashing individual title in Penn State’s Nittany Lion Invitational as a freshman competing as individual in the fall of 2018. A lot has happened since then, not the least of which was the global pandemic that seemed to knock Willis, and a lot of players, off their games a bit.

   But after opening with a 75, Willis showed she’s still got it, unfurling a 5-under 67 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-under 71 to join Van Respaille in the tie for sixth place. It was the best individual finish for a Penn State player at the Big Ten Championship since Cara Basso, a Villa Maria Academy product, landed in a tie for fourth place in the spring of 2018. Willis will be the veteran senior in the fall, hopefully a fall that will again include college golf and another Nittany Lion Invitational to tee it up in.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the individual standings were two players, Northwestern’s Kelly Sim, a junior from Edgewater, N.J., and Michigan’s Monet Chun, a freshman from Canada, who finished in a tie for ninth place, a shot behind Michigan State’s Marfa Sans at 1-under 215.

   After opening with a 73, Sim signed for a pair of 1-under 71s to get it under par for three rounds at TPC River’s Bend. Chun opened with a 1-under 71 before matching par in each of the final two rounds with a pair of 72s.

   Backing up Willis for Penn State was Ishna Dhruva, a sophomore from Katy, Texas who finished alone in 32^nd place at 7-over 223. Dhruva opened with a 73 and added a 76 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up with her best round of the weekend, a 1-over 74.

   Mathilde Delavallade, a sophomore from France, finished a shot behind Dhruva in the group tied for 33^rd place at 8-over 224. Dalavallade matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a pair of 76s.

   Like many players who were seniors in the spring of 2020, Megan McLean, a Voorhees High product, didn’t hesitate to come back for a fifth year. She has probably been Penn State’s most consistent player this spring. At TPC River’s Bend, McLean followed up a pair of 76s with a final round of 1-over 73 to finish among the group tied for 46^th place at 225.

   Victoria Tip-Aucha, a freshman from Vienna, Va. via Thailand, capped her debut season by finishing in the group tied for 52^nd place at 229. After struggling to an opening-round 80, Tip-Aucha added a 2-over 74 before closing with a final-round 75.

   Sophomore Taylor Waller, who starred scholastically at Canon-McMillan, rounded out the Penn State lineup as she finished among the group tied for 60^th place at 223, sandwiching a 3-over 75 in Saturday’s second round with a pair of 79s.