Williamson leads the way as Florida State wins first regional title, holding on at the Louisville Regional

    Florida State will be going to the NCAA Championship for the fifth straight time later this month at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., but for the first time in program history, the Seminoles will go there as regional champions.

   The runnerup to Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s first match-play final last month, Florida State held on for a three-shot victory in the Louisville Regional at the University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Ky. Wednesday. The Seminoles head a group of six qualifiers out of the Louisville Regional that included some of the most powerful programs in the country.

   South Carolina, the regional’s top seed and No. 1 in the latest Golfstat rankings, had to survive a playoff with Southeastern Conference rival Arkansas to grab the sixth and final berth to the NCAA Championship out of the regional. Only seven shots separated Florida State, seeded second and ranked eighth, at the top of the team leaderboard from South Carolina and Arkansas in a tie for sixth place.

   And Florida State, behind Amelia Williamson, a junior from England who finished in a tie for second place in the individual standings at 3-under 213, held off all of them with a display of grit and determination.

   The kind of drama that went down in the Louisville Regional played out at two other regional sites. It, unfortunately, did not at the fourth regional site, the Baton Rouge Regional, scheduled to be held at LSU’s home course, The University Club in Baton Rouge, La.

   It just kept raining all week in Baton Rouge and not a single shot was hit. In a regrettable decision, the NCAA cancelled the tournament and sent the top six seeds to the NCAA Championship. A lot of women who had their 2019-2020 season abruptly cancelled in March of last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, saw their 2020-’21 season come to an end because of some untimely spring rain.

   I’ll run down who got through later, but I will also note the eight and 10 seeds that played their way out of their respective regionals to the NCAA Championship, a chance the lower-seeded teams in Baton Rouge never got.

   Florida State, which took a four-shot lead into Wednesday’s final round in the Louisville Regional, closed with a solid 7-over-par 295 over the 6,289-yard, par-72 University of Louisville layout to finish with an 8-over 872 total that was three shots ahead of Big 12 power Texas and Pac-12 power UCLA, both of which landed on 11-over 875 to share second place.

   The Longhorns, seeded fourth and ranked 16^th, finished up with a solid 3-over 291. They had struggled a little in the opening round with a 297, but turned things around with a 1-under 287 in Tuesday’s second round. UCLA, seeded seventh and ranked 25^th, put together a solid final round of 1-over 289 behind individual champion Emma Spitz, a sophomore from Austria and No. 17 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

   The biggest move of the day was made by SEC champion Auburn, seeded third and ranked ninth, as the Tigers fired the best team round in Wednesday’s final round, a 2-under 286, to surge into a tie for fourth place with gritty Big Ten champion Michigan State, each landing on 14-over 878. Auburn had carded consecutive 8-over 296s in the first two round and were in danger of seeing its season come to an end, but the Tigers came on strong to punch their ticket to Grayhawk.

   The Spartans, seeded eighth and ranked 32^nd, carded a second straight 5-over 293 to earn a trip to the NCAA Championship. Maybe Michigan State’s ranking will even go up a little after this performance. And yes, the Spartans are happy they weren’t chosen as an eighth seed in Baton Rouge.

   South Carolina and Arkansas began the day tied for second place, four shots behind Florida State. After matching 10-over 298s, they were in a playoff to extend their season. The No. 1 team in the country, South Carolina, survived on the first hole of the playoff to move on. That’s how tight things were in the Louisville Regional.

   Williamson led the way for Florida State as she closed with her worst score of the week, a 1-over 73, to get her piece of second place at 3-under. Backing up Williamson was fellow junior Beatrice Wallin, the Swede who is No. 9 in the Women’s WAGR. Wallin closed with a 3-over 75 to land among a large group of players tied for seventh place at 1-under 215.

   Leading the Seminoles’ trio of freshman was Alice Hodge of Larchmont, N.Y. She was the picture of consistency, signing for a third straight 2-over 74 to land in a tie for 32^nd place at 6-over 222. Charlotte Heath of England closed with a 1-over 73 that left her in the group tied for 41^st place at 224. Taylor Roberts of Parkland, Fla. finished up with a throw-out 78 as she ended up in the group tied  for 72^nd place.

   UCLA’s Spitz, who got a lot of air time while finishing in a tie for third place in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship last month, closed with a 4-under 68 for an 8-under 208 total that gave her a five-shot victory in the race for the individual title.

   Joining Williamson in the tie for second place at 3-under was Tennessee’s Mikayla Bardwell, a junior form Lewisville, Texas who fired the best individual round of the week, a scintillating 6-under 66 in Wednesday’s final round that earned her an individual berth to the NCAA Championship out of the Louisville Regional.

   Louisville’s Lauren Hartlage, a graduate student from Elizabethtown, Ky. and No. 83 in the Women’s WAGR, couldn’t quite drag the Cardinals over the finish line in the team chase. But she did earn herself a trip to Grayhawk as an individual as she closed with a 1-over 73 to finish among a trio tied for fourth place at 2-under 214.

   North Florida’s Christin Eisenbeiss, a freshman from Germany, also earned an individual spot in the NCAA Championship as she struggled to a final-round 76, but ended up in a tie for fourth place at 2-under.

   There was no way Kaitlyn Papp, a senior home girl from Austin, Texas and No. 7 in the Women’s WAGR, was going to let Texas have its season end short of the NCAA Championship. So gritty in earning low-amateur honors in that rarest of birds, the December U.S. Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Papp contributed a 3-under 69 in Tuesday’s second round as the Longhorns climbed into the top six to stay.

   Papp closed with a 1-over 73 to round out the trio tied for fourth place at 214. And the season for Papp and the Longhorns will continue on at Grayhawk.

   In the Columbus Regional, the SEC was represented at the top of the leaderboard as Georgia, seeded fifth and ranked 18^th, much like Florida State did in the Louisville Regional, made a determined stand by matching par for the second straight day with a 288 to claim a 15-shot victory over a couple of top-10 teams in Duke and Arizona State.

   The Bulldogs were led by individual champion Jenny Bae, a junior from Suwanee, Ga. who closed with a 1-over 73 over the tough Scarlet Course at The Ohio State University Golf Club for a 4-under 212 total that gave her a three-shot victory over a trio of pursuers.

   Georgia’s final-round 288 gave it a 1-over 865 total. ACC champion Duke, the top seed in the Columbus Regional and ranked second, closed with a 7-over 295 over the 6,358-yard, par-72 Scarlet Course layout to finish in a tie for second place with Pac-12 power Arizona State, seeded second and ranked seventh, at 16-over 880. The Sun Devils, who had struggled to a 301 in the second round, matched par in Wednesday’s final round with a 288 to join Duke at 16-over 880.

   A double-digit seed out of the SEC, Kentucky, seeded 10^th and ranked 37^th, is headed to Grayhawk as the Wildcats finished up with a solid 2-over 290 to end up alone in fourth place with a 19-over 883 total.

   Michigan will get to join cross-state rival Michigan State at the NCAA Championship as the Wolverines, another low-seeded Big Ten entry, finished in a tie for fifth place with Mid-American Conference power Kent State at 21-over 885. Michigan, seeded seventh and ranked 26^th, struggled to a final-round 301, but had done enough earlier in the week to earn a ticket to Grayhawk.

   Lisa Strom, the 1994 PIAA champion at Lansdale Catholic, had a pretty nice team in her debut season as the head coach at Kent State in 2019-’20. That season ended too soon. But Strom’s Golden Flashes closed with an 8-over 296 in Wednesday’s final round to deliver their coach a trip to the NCAA Championship.

   Backing up Bae for Georgia were Candice Mahe, a sophomore from France, and Isabella Holpfer, a freshman from Austria, both of whom landed in the group tied for fifth place at 1-over 217. Mahe closed with a solid 1-under 71 while Holpfer finished up with a 3-over 75.

   Jo Hua Hung, a junior from Taipei, struggled on the tough Scarlet Course and in difficult conditions the first two days, opening with a 75 and struggling to an 82 in Tuesday’s second round. But she put it all behind her and came up huge for Georgia in Wednesday’s final round as she was low-Bulldog with a 3-under 69. That left her in the group tied for 36^th place at 226.

   Caterina Don, a sophomore from Italy and No. 52 in the Women’s WAGR, closed with a 3-over 75 to join Hung in the group tied for 36^th place at 226 for the Bulldogs.

   Arizona State’s Linn Grant, a sophomore from Sweden and No. 2 in the Women’s WAGR, closed with a solid 2-under 70 to share runnerup honors with Kent State’s Caley McGinty, a sophomore from England, and Michigan’s Monet Chun, a freshman from Canada, each landing on 1-under 215.

   McGinty, the MAC individual champion, matched par in the final round with a 72. After posting a pair of 2-under 70s, closed with a 3-over 75.

   Duke freshman Phoebe Brinker, an Archmere Academy product, is headed to the NCAA Championship with the Blue Devils. Brinker of Wilmington, Del., finished up with a 4-over 76, her worst round of the week, to finish among the group tied for 33^rd place at 225.

   It was a disappointing finish for another freshman from Wilmington, Jennifer Cleary, a Tower Hill product who had a really nice debut season with Virginia. Cleary closed with a 3-over 75 to finish among the group tied for 55^th place at 230. The Cavaliers, seeded third and ranked 11^th, closed with a second straight 299 to finish in ninth place with a 30-over 894 total.

   In the Stanford Regional, the host Cardinal completed their runaway victory, capturing the team crown by a whopping 30 shots behind individual champion Rachel Heck, a freshman from Memphis, Tenn. and No. 8 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Stanford closed with a 3-under 281 to end up with a 28-under 824 total. Heck fired her second straight 4-under 67 over the 6,291-yard, par-71 Stanford Golf Course layout for an 11-under 202 total. Teammate Angelina Ye, a sophomore from Bradenton, Fla. via China and No. 27 in the Women’s WAGR, finished up with a 3-under 68 to end up a shot behind Heck in second place with a 10-under 203 total. Ye was the winner of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in 2019 at SentryWorld in Stevens Point, Wis.

   Heck was no secret to anyone. She’s been a star since she made the cut and played four rounds in the 2017 U.S. Women’s Open at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J. as a 15-year-old. She has now rattled off back-to-back individual victories in the Pac-12 Championship and in the Stanford Regional. Granted, both were on her home course, but Heck is headed for Grayhawk on a serious roll.

   Wake Forest, the top seed in the Stanford Regional and ranked third, kept its eye on the prize, closing with a 4-over 288 to earn runnerup honors with a 2-over 854 total. The Demon Deacons, the runnerup to ACC rival Duke in the last NCAA Championship contested in 2019, are headed back to the NCAA Championship with a talented and experienced group.

   Big 12 champion Oklahoma State, seeded second and ranked sixth, finished a shot behind Wake Forest in third place with a 3-over 855 total. The Cowgirls, behind another of the talented Swedes all over college golf, Maja Stark, a sophomore and No. 6 in the Women’s WAGR who finished in third place in the individual standings, closed with a solid 2-over 286.

   Another ACC entry, Virginia Tech, seeded fourth and ranked 14^th, finished a shot behind Oklahoma State in fourth place with a 4-over 856 total, the Hokies finishing up with a 7-over 291.

   Two of Stanford’s Pac-12 rivals, Arizona, seeded sixth and ranked 22^nd, and Pac-12 champion Southern California, seeded third and ranked 10^th, grabbed the final two berths to the NCAA Championship.

   The Wildcats made the day’s biggest move, firing a 5-under 279, to finish in fifth place at 5-over 857, a shot behind Virginia Tech. Arizona won’t have far to go to get to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk in Scottsdale, Ariz. Southern Cal struggled a little, but held on to grab the final berth to nationals, the Trojans closing with a 5-over 289 to end up with an 8-over 860 total.

   Backing up Heck and Ye for Stanford was Brooke Seay, a sophomore from San Diego who gave the Cardinal a third finisher inside the top 10. Seay struggled a little in the final round with a 76, but finished in a tie for 10^th place at 1-under 212.

   Aline Krauter, a junior from Germany and No. 51 in the Women’s WAGR, and Sadie Englemann, a freshman from Austin, Texas, rounded out the Stanford lineup, finishing among the group tied for 15^th place, each landing on 1-over 214.

   Krauter, winner of The Women’s Amateur Championship at West Lancashire last summer, closed with her best round of the week, a 1-under 70. Englemann, who had a share of the opening-round lead with a 4-under 67, struggled a little in the final round with a 77.

   Oklahoma State’s Stark closed with a 1-under 70 to finish three shots behind Stanford’s Ye in third place at 7-under 206.

   Arizona’s final-round surge was fueled by Yu-Sang Hou, a senior from Taiwan and No. 41 in the Women’s WAGR who fired a final round of 5-under 66, the best round of the day, to finish in fourth place in the individual standings with a 6-under 207 total that left her a shot behind Stark.

   San Jose State sophomore Kajsa Arwefjall, another talented Swede, fired a final round of 4-under 67 to finish three shots behind Yu-Sang Hou in fifth place with a 3-under 210 total and advance to the NCAA Championship as an individual.

   In the Baton Rouge Regional, the rain never let up to the point that the University Club layout was playable. Not sure what the big rush was to complete play by Wednesday, but the NCAA cancelled the tournament and the top six seeds were awarded berths in the NCAA Championship.

   The top two seeds were a couple of SEC powers, host LSU, ranked fourth, and Mississippi, ranked 15^th. The Big 12’s Baylor, college golf’s hottest team in January, was the third seed and is ranked 12^th. Oregon, out of the Pac-12 and ranked 13^th, also advanced to Grayhawk as the four seed.

   It became an historic season for Maryland, out of the ACC, as the Terrapins, seeded fifth and ranked 19^th, advanced to the NCAA Championship for the first time. The final team to advance out of the Baton Rouge Regional was sixth-seeded and No. 21 Alabama, which played in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match just three springs ago, falling to Arizona at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.