Fournand captures individual title, leads South Carolina to team crown in Landfall Tradition

    South Carolina seemed to be a team to reckon with when it entered the NCAA postseason as the top seed in the Louisville Regional last spring.

   But the Gamecocks never really fired in the postseason. They barely survived in the Louisville Regional, finishing in sixth place, and never got in the mix in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   Maybe the signs were there in the Southeastern Conference Championship when the Gamecocks finished second in qualifying for match play and were quickly ousted in the quarterfinals by Alabama. South Carolina’s Pauline Roussin-Bouchard was the SEC’s individual champion, but other than that, there wasn’t a lot to celebrate in Columbia when it came to women’s golf.

   The lineup has changed, though. Roussin-Bouchard, who was ranked No. 1 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) for much of her time at South Carolina, is pursuing her dreams of playing professional golf.

   But the new-look Gamecocks, No. 6 in the latest Golfstat rankings, have certainly been impressive this fall. They capped their fall schedule with a 12-shot victory over Michigan in the Landfall Tradition, another of the great fall college events that returned to the calendar in 2021 after a pandemic-enforced hiatus. The Landfall, played at the Country Club of Landfall’s Pete Dye Course in Wilmington, N.C., wrapped up with a Halloween Sunday finish.

   South Carolina, behind individual champion Justine Fournand, a junior from France who transferred from Florida Atlantic, closed with an 8-under 280 to rally past the No. 15 Wolverines, finishing with a 15-under 849 total over the 6,150-yard, par-72 Dye Course layout. The wind was blowing off the North Carolina coast for Friday’s opening round when the Gamecocks opened with a 3-over 291, but in calmer conditions for Saturday’s second round, they fired a 10-under 278 to creep within a shot of Michigan.

   The wind returned Sunday, but South Carolina seemed unbothered by the conditions as its final-round 280 was easily the day’s best round and enabled it to surge past Michigan. It was the second tournament win of the fall for the Gamecocks, who prevailed over an absolutely loaded field in the Annika Intercollegiate in September at Royal Golf Club in Lake Elmo, Minn.

   It was a pretty strong showing in the Landfall for the Big Ten’s Michigan and, for that matter, reigning Big Ten champion Michigan State, which finished in third place.

   The Wolverines opened with a solid 1-over 289 and added a 9-under 279 in Saturday’s second round to take a one-shot edge over South Carolina into the Halloween finish. Michigan struggled a little in the final round with a 5-over 293, but still was the only other team to finish under par with a 3-under 561 total that left it 12 shots behind South Carolina.

   Michigan State, a tad underrated at No. 51, was solid throughout, opening with a 5-over 293 and adding a 5-under 283 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 1-over 289 that left the Spartans four shots behind Michigan with a 1-over 865 total.

   A couple of Atlantic Coast Conference powers, No. 7 Wake Forest and No. 4 Virginia, finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the team standings, the Demon Deacons ending up six shots behind Michigan State with a 7-over 871 total and the Cavaliers another shot behind Wake Forest with an 8-over 872 total.

   Wake Forest opened with a 6-over 294 and added a 1-under 287 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up with a 2-over 290, Virginia, getting an outstanding individual performance from Jennifer Cleary, the pride of Wilmington, Del. and Tower Hill Academy who finished in a tie for fourth place, opened with a 2-over 290 and added a 6-over 294 in Saturday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 288.

   Penn State, another Big Ten entry, finished in 15^th place in the tough 18-team field with a 34-over 898 total. The Nittany Lions had opened the fall schedule with a victory in their Nittany Lion Invitational, but, as always, they’ll have some work to do in the spring to move up from their No. 91 ranking. Penn State struggled in the opening round with a 308, but played better after that, adding a 6-over 294 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 9-over 297.

   Fournand led the way for South Carolina as she took control of the individual chase with a sparkling 5-under 67 in Friday’s tough conditions, added a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round and closed with 4-under 68 for an 8-under 208 total, three shots better than runnerup Emily Mahar, a Virginia Tech senior from Australia who is No. 72 in the Women’s WAGR.

   South Carolina had a pair of talented freshmen among the group of six players tied for fourth place at 3-under 213, English woman Hannah Darling, who is No. 15 in the Women’s WAGR, and Sweden’s Louise Rydqvist.

   Darling won the Royal & Ancient Girls’ Amateur Championship last summer and was a solid member of the Great Britain & Ireland team that fell to the United States in the Curtis Cup Match at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire, Wales in late August. After struggling to a 76 in Friday’s windy weather, Darling carded a 3-under 69 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 4-under 68. Rydqvist also struggled in the opening round with a 75, but bounced back with a 5-under 67 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-under 71.

   Another transfer in the South Carolina lineup, Tai Anudit, a redshirt senior from Thailand who won the ASUN Championship individual title with Kennesaw State last spring, contributed a 3-under 69 to the Gamecocks’ second-round surge. Bookend 74s in the first and final rounds left Anudit in the group tied for 19^th place with a 1-over 217 total.

   Rounding out the South Carolina lineup was a holdover from last year’s team, Mathilde Claisse, a junior from France who closed with a counting 73 to finish among the group tied for 66^th place at 228. Claisse struggled in the first two rounds, opening with a 78 and adding an 80 in Saturday’s second round.

   Paula Kirner, a sophomore from Germany, was also in South Carolina lineup at the SEC Championships last spring. Competing as an individual in the Landfall, Kirner opened with a 75 and added a 76 in Saturday’s second round before closing with her best round of the weekend, a 2-over 74, as she finished among the group tied for 52^nd place with a 225 total.

   Virginia Tech’s Mahar, who made a run to the quarterfinals in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y., matched par in Saturday’s second round with a 72 after opening with a 71, then closed strong, carding a 4-under 68 to earn runnerup honors, three shots behind Fournand with a 5-under 211 total.

   Illinois’ Crystal Wang, a senior from Diamond Bar, Calif., bounced back from an opening-round 74 with a sparkling 4-under 68 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a solid 2-under 70 that earned her a third-place finish with a 4-under 212 total.

   A year ago at this time, Cleary was forced to delay the start of her college career as the ACC wouldn’t allow its teams to compete in the fall portion of the wraparound 2020-2021 season. But she was ready to go and put together an outstanding half of a freshman season in the spring.

   Cleary was Virginia’s best player in the Landfall as she opened with a strong 3-under 69 on a windy Friday, struggled a little with a 74 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 2-under 70 that enabled her to join the group tied for fourth place at 3-under.

   In addition to Cleary and South Carolina’s freshman duo, the rest of the group that landed on 213 included Florida State’s Amelia Williamson, a senior from England, North Carolina State’s Inja Fric, a junior from Slovenia, and Purdue’s Kan Bunnabodee, a junior from Thailand.

   Williamson rattled off three straight 1-under 71s. Fric opened with a 4-under 68 and struggled a little with a 74 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 1-under 71. Bunnabodee added a 2-under 70 to her opening-round 71 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Penn State was led by its senior leader, Sarah Willis of Eaton, Ohio who closed with a solid 4-under 68 to end up among the group tied for 19^th place at 1-over 217. Willis struggled in the opening round with a 76 and added a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round.

   Mathilde Delavallade, a junior from France who claimed the individual crown in the Nittany Lion Invitational, sandwiched an even-par 72 with a pair of 75s to finish among the group tied for 38^th place with a 6-over 222 total. Redshirt junior Taylor Waller, a PIAA Class AAA qualifier as a junior at Canon McMillan in 2016, bounced back from an opening-round 79 with a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s second round before closing with a 76 to finish in the group tied for 66^th place at 228.

   Drew Nienhaus, a freshman from St. Louis, added a 75 to her opening-round 78 before closing with a 79 to finish in the group tied for 79^th place at 232. Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Isha Dhruva, a junior from Katy, Texas who added a 77 to her opening-round 81 before finishing up with a 78 as she ended up in a tie for 85^th place with a 238 total.