Greg Robertson won every conference championship his Kent State teams teed it up in during his time as the head coach of the Golden Flashes. It was expected that Kent State would win the team title.
Robertson returned to his alma mater to take over the Oklahoma State women’s program, but the coronavirus pandemic prevented him from getting a shot at a Big 12 Championship in 2020. And the Big 12 is a different animal than the Mid-American Conference his Kent State teams were dominating.
But it was just like old times for Robertson this week as the Cowgirls, No. 6 in the latest Golfstat rankings, set all kinds of records on their way to a 16-shot victory over Texas Tech. It was the seventh straight victory in a conference championship for Robertson, but this one was special. This was against the tough Big 12 and this one was Oklahoma State.
It was the 24th conference championship for the Oklahoma State program and its 10th since the formation of the Big 12. The Big 12 Championship wrapped up Tuesday at The Club at Carlton Woods at The Woodlands, Texas.
The Cowgirls’ scintillating 18-under-par 270 in Monday’s second round was a tournament record as was its 26-under 549 total after 36 holes. Their 54-hole total of 34-under 830 smashed the tournament record by 26 shots and was the second-lowest score in Oklahoma State’s storied history.
The Big 12 had been dominated by some very good Texas teams in recent years and the Longhorns had claimed the Big 12 team crown each of the last three times it was contested in 2017, ’18, and ’19. But 2021 belongs to Oklahoma State and in a very big way.
The Cowgirls opened up with a 9-under 279 last Sunday before breaking away from the field with that explosive second-round 270 behind a 7-under 65 by Isabella Fierro, a sophomore from Mexico and No. 69 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). It was the lowest single round in tournament history.
The Cowgirls closed with a modest 7-under 281 to account for their final total of 34-under 830.
Texas Tech, behind individual champion Gala Dumez, a redshirt freshman from France, finished in second place with an 18-under 846 total. The Red Raiders began the weekend ranked 29th, but their runnerup finish bumped them up to No. 21. Texas Tech struggled a little in an opening round of 2-over 290, but came on strong with a 12-under 276 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with an 8-under 280.
No. 15 Baylor finished a shot behind Texas Tech in third place as the Bears added a pair of 6-under 282s to their opening-round 283 for a 17-under 847 total.
Oklahoma saw its ranking drop a couple of pegs from No. 32 to No. 34 after the Sooners finished a shot behind Baylor in fourth place with a 16-under 848 total. Oklahoma opened with a 1-under 287 and added a solid 10-under 278 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 5-under 283.
No. 18 Texas never really got it going as the Longhorns bookended a 4-under 284 in Monday’s second round with a pair of 3-under 285s as they finished in fifth place in the nine-team field. Not bad, but not really up to Texas’ standards.
Still, all five of the top finishers at Carlton Woods can expect to hear their team’s name called when the NCAA regional fields are unveiled on The Golf Channel Wednesday.
Most of the drama in Tuesday’s final round came in the battle for the individual title as Dumez looked like she was going to run away with it when she birdied six of the nine holes on the outgoing nine at Carlton Woods. She made birdies at the first, third and fourth holes, slipped momentarily with a bogey at the sixth and then rattled off three straight birdies at the seventh, eighth and ninth.
But Oklahoma State’s Maja Stark, a sophomore from Sweden and No. 6 in the Women’s WAGR, got it going on the back nine at Carlton Woods with four straight birdies at the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th holes and two more at 16 and 17 to draw within one of Dumez, who had bogeyed the 10th hole.
Dumez, however, gave herself some breathing room with one last birdie, her seventh of the day, at the 17th hole to hold off Stark, who made bogey at the last, by two shots.
Dumez had opened with a 69, then fired a sparkling 6-under 66 in Monday’s second round. Her front-nine fireworks in the final round led to a 5-under 67 and a 14-under 202 total as she became Texas Tech’s first individual Big 12 champion.
Stark had posted back-to-back 69s in the first two rounds before her late rush gave her a 6-under 66 in the final round and a 12-under 204 total. She was the leading lady of a foursome of Cowgirls that finished among the top nine in the individual standings.
Fierro had opened with a 2-under 70 and her scorching 7-under 65 in Monday’s second round had her tied for the individual lead with Dumez. She struggled a little in the final round with a 2-over 74, but finished in a tie for sixth place with a 7-under 209 total.
Fierro was a 16-year-old phenom in the summer of 2017 when she captured the prestigious North & South Women’s Amateur Championship at Pinehurst’s iconic No. 2 Course and then reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur at San Diego Country Club in Chula Vista, Calif. The transition to college golf wasn’t seamless and a global pandemic probably didn’t help matters much, but Fierro seems to be settling in at Stillwater.
Rina Tatematsu, a freshman from Thailand, finished a shot behind her teammate Fierro in eighth place at 6-under 210. Tatematsu added a 3-under 69 to her opening-round 70 before finishing up with a 1-under 71.
Lianna Bailey, a junior from England, was Oklahoma State’s fourth finisher inside the top nine as she was part of a trio of players tied for ninth place at 5-under 211. After opening with a 70, Bailey contributed a 5-under 67 to the Cowgirls’ sizzling second-round team performance before closing with a 74.
Rounding out the Oklahoma State lineup was Hun-Hsuan Yu, a junior from Taiwan who finished among the group tied for 24th place at 4-over 220. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Yu struggled in Monday’s second round with a 78 before bouncing back with a 2-under 70 in the final round.
Baylor’s Gurleen Kaur, a junior from Houston, opened with a sparkling 6-under 66 and added a 69 in Monday’s second round as she was right there with Dumez and Fierro at 9-under 135 heading into Tuesday’s final round. Kaur finished up with a 2-under 70 to finish alone in third place, a shot behind Stark at 11-under 205.
Texas’ Agathe Laisne, a senior from France and No. 16 in the Women’s WAGR, and Oklahoma’s Hannah Screen, a junior from England, finished three shots behind Kaur in a tie for fourth place at 8-under 208.
Laisne was the individual champion the last time the Big 12 Championship was staged at the Golf Course of Oklahoma in Broken Arrow, Okla. in the spring of 2019. After matching par in the opening round, Laisne added a pair of 4-under 68s.
Screen, the qualifying medalist in the Women’s Amateur Championship in 2019 at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland, opened with a 70 and added a pair of 3-under 69s.
Joining Oklahoma State’s Fierro in the tie for sixth at 7-under 209 was Texas’ Kaitlyn Papp, a senior from Austin, Texas and No. 7 in the Women’s WAGR. Papp’s talent and toughness were on display in a U.S. Women’s Open played less than two weeks before Christmas at Champions Golf Club in Houston as she contended for a long time before finishing in a tie for ninth place and earning low-amateur honors.
The steady Papp added a 70 to her opening-round 71 before closing with a 4-under 68. Papp finished in a tie for second behind Laisne in the Big 12 Championship two years ago. With Papp and Laisne at the top of the lineup, Texas would still be a tough out if the Longhorns could figure out a way to get into match play in the NCAA Championship next month at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Joining Oklahoma State’s Bailey in the trio tied for ninth place at 5-under 211 were Texas Tech’s Amy Taylor, a junior from England, and Baylor’s Elodie Chapelet, a senior from France. After opening with a 74, Taylor carded a 3-under 68 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 4-under 68. After opening with a 73, Chapelet registered a solid 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 70.
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