Co-medalist Carlbom leads the way as San Jose State comes east to capture team crown in the Landfall Tradition

    If you thought that San Jose State’s run to a spot in the match-play bracket in last spring’s NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. was something of a fluke, think again.

   The Spartans emerged out of the Mountain West Conference as a team with legitimate national title hopes last spring. They proved their game could travel, too, with a runnerup finish in the Ann Arbor Regional before their strong showing at Grayhawk, where they fell to eventual finalist Oregon in the quarterfinals.

   Over the recent Halloween weekend, San Jose State came east to tee it up in what has become a traditional event late in the fall portion of the wraparound college tournament schedule, the 20^th Landfall Tradition at the Country Club of Landfall in Wilmington, N.C.

   There were powerful entries from the Atlantic Coast Conference, from the Southeastern Conference and from the Big Ten, but it was San Jose State that led from start to finish, earning a six-shot victory over reigning ACC champion Wake Forest.

   San Jose State arrived at the Landfall ranked ninth, but its victory sent the Spartans soaring to No. 3 in the latest Golfstat rankings, just behind No. 2 Wake Forest as the college season hits its midseason pause.

   The Spartans were led by Louisa Carlbom, a junior from Sweden who earned her first college victory, sharing the top spot with Florida State’s Charlotte Heath, a junior from England who is No. 27 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), as each landed on a Landfall record 10-under 206.

   Carlbom trailed Heath, a member of the Great Britain & Ireland team that fell to the United States in the Curtis Cup Match last summer at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course, by a shot after Heath opened with a sizzling 6-under 66 over the 6,150-yard, par-72 Country Club at Landfall layout.

   Carlbom put a nose in front by adding a 2-under 70 to her opening-round 67 before Heath caught her with a 4-under 68 while Carlbom closed with a solid 3-under 69 as the Landfall wrapped up Oct. 30^th. It was also the first career tournament win for Heath.

   San Jose State led Wake Forest by a shot after the Spartans opened with a 10-under 278. They extended their lead to four shots over the Demon Deacons with a 4-under 284 in the second round before finishing up with an 8-under 280 for a 22-under 842 total.

   Wake Forest, behind Emilia Migliaccio, a graduate student from Cary, N.C. and No. 22 in the Women’s WAGR who finished in a tie for fourth place in the individual chase, added a 1-under 287 to its opening round of 9-under 279 to stay right on San Jose State’s heels before closing with a 6-under 282 that left them six shots behind the Spartans with a 16-under 848 total.

   Wake Forest’s ACC rival Florida State, behind co-medalist Heath, was just a shot behind the Demon Deacons in third place with a 15-under 849 total. The Seminoles, who rose from No. 18 to No. 9 in the Golfstat rankings in the aftermath of the Landfall, opened with a solid 1-under 287 and struggled a little with a 3-over 291 in the second round before surging to an 11-under 277 in the final round, the best team round of the weekend.

   Florida State was also one of the last eight teams standing for match play in the NCAA Championship as the Seminoles fell to SEC power Texas A&M in the quarterfinals.

   Another SEC power, South Carolina, retained its lofty No. 4 ranking by finishing three shots behind Florida State in fourth place with a 12-under 852 total. The Gamecocks posted back-to-back 2-under 286 rounds the first two days at the Landfall before finishing strong with an 8-under 280 total.

   It was another 15 shots back to Central Florida in fifth place with a 3-over 867 total, still a solid showing for the Knights, out of the American Athletic Conference, whose ranking somehow fell from No. 26 to No. 28 in the aftermath of the Landfall.

   After opening with a 4-under 284, UCF struggled a little in the middle round with an 8-over 296 before finishing up with a 1-under 287.

   Big Ten power Michigan State shared sixth place with another ACC entry, North Carolina State, as each landed on 7-over 871, four shots behind UCF.

   The Big Ten Spartans, whose ranking improved from No. 45 to No. 42 following its showing in the Landfall, opened with a 1-over 289, struggled a little in the middle round with an 8-over 296 and closed with its best round of the weekend, a 2-under 286.

   The No. 46 Wolfpack opened with a solid 3-under 285 and added a 1-over 289 before struggling a little in the final round with a 9-over 297.

   It was a tough weekend for Penn State, which will take a No. 72 ranking into the midseason pause after the Nittany Lions, another Big Ten entry, finished last of the 18 teams in the elite field with a 56-over 920 total. Penn State struggled to an opening round of 309 and added a 20-over 308 in the second round before closing with its best round of the weekend, a 15-over 303 total.

   Penn State had an otherwise decent fall campaign, including a victory in its Nittany Lion Invitational, but head coach Denise St. Pierre likes to take her players to events like the Landfall to remind them what the top level of competition looks like.

   Backing up Carlbom for San Jose State was Kajsa Arwefjall, a senior from Sweden and No. 48 in the Women’s WAGR who gave the Spartans a second finisher inside the top 10 as she landed among a trio tied for ninth place at 4-under 212. After opening with a 2-under 70, Arwefjall recorded back-to-back 1-under 71s in the final two rounds.

   Lucia Lopez-Ortega, a sophomore from Spain, and Rebecca Gyliner, a freshman from Sweden, finished among the group tied for 20^th place, each ending up with a 1-under 215 total.

   Lopez-Ortega matched par in the opening round with a 72 and added a 2-over 74 in the second round before matching Carlbom for the low round of the last day for San Jose State with a 3-under 69. Gyliner matched par in each of the first two rounds with back-to-back 72s before closing with a 1-under 71.

   Rounding out the lineup for San Jose State was Antonia Malate, a graduate student from Seaside, Calif. who finished in the group tied for 25^th place with an even-par 216 total. Malate was a counter in each of the first two rounds for the Spartans as she opened with a 3-under 69 and added a 1-under 71 in the second round before finishing up with a 4-over 76.

   South Carolina’s Justine Fournand, a senior from France, finished two shots behind co-medalists Carlbom and Heath in third place with an 8-under 208 total. Fournand was just a shot behind Heath with her opening round of 5-under 67. She added a 1-under 71 in the second round before finishing up with a 2-under 70.

   Migliaccio, a member of the U.S. team that defeated GB&I and retained the Curtis Cup in June at Merion, sandwiched a 73 with a pair of 4-under 68s to get a share of fourth place in the individual chase with Florida State’s Lottie Woad, a freshman from England, each ending up a shot behind Fournand at 7-under 209.

   Migliaccio took a year off from college golf and worked as an intern at The Golf Channel before returning to Wake Forest to take the extra year of eligibility the NCAA granted players who saw their 2019-2020 season halted by the coronavirus pandemic. She is a solid addition to what was an already loaded Wake Forest lineup.

   After opening with a sparkling 5-under 67, Woad struggled a little with a 2-over 74 in the second round before finishing up with a solid 4-under 68.

   Migliaccio’s Wake Forest teammate and her teammate on the U.S. Curtis Cup team, Rachel Kuehn, a senior from Asheville, N.C. and No. 9 in the Women’s WAGR, and South Carolina’s Hannah Darling, a sophomore from Scotland and No. 6 in the Women’s WAGR, finished in a tie for sixth place, each landing on 6-under 210.

   Kuehn shared the lead with Heath with a sizzling opening round of 66 before cooling off with a 1-over 73 in the second round and finishing up with a 1-under 71. Darling, a member of GB&I‘s Curtis Cup team at Merion, saved her best for last as she closed with a 6-under 66 to surge up the leaderboard. Darling had opened with a 2-under 70 before adding a 2-over 74 in the second round.

   Michigan State’s Valery Plata, a senior from Colombia and No. 68 in the Women’s WAGR, finished alone in eighth place with a 5-under 211 total. Plata, a semifinalist in the 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., recorded back-to-back 2-under 70s in the first two rounds before closing with a 1-under 71.

   Joining San Jose State’s Arwefjall in the trio tied for ninth place at 4-under 212 were a couple of Alabama players, Benedetta Moresco, a senior from Italy, and Sarah Edwards, a senior from Jay, Fla.

   After opening with a 74, Moresco got it going in the second round with a 6-under 66 before matching par in the final round with a 72. Edwards added a solid 3-under 69 in the second round to her opening round of 1-under 71 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Another perennial ACC power, Duke, struggled at the Landfall, finishing in 13^th place with an 18-over 862 total. The Blue Devils entered the Landfall ranked 11^th by Golfstat, but fell back to No. 17 in the aftermath.

   Junior Phoebe Brinker, an Archmere Academy product from Wilmington, Del. and No. 70 in the Women’s WAGR, finished in the group tied for 45^th place with a 6-over 222 total. Brinker, who claimed the ACC individual crown last spring at The Reserve at Pawleys Island on Pawleys Island, S.C., struggled to a 5-over 77 in the second round at the Country Club of Landfall after opening with a 1-over 73 and matched par in the final round with a 72.

   Brinker’s teammate, sophomore Rylie Heflin, another former scholastic standout in Delaware at Tower Hill, finished among the group tied for 74^th place with a 228 total. Heflin, an Avondale, Chester County native, struggled in the opening round with a 6-over 78, bounced back with a 1-over 73 in the second round and closed with a 77.

   Another ACC entry, North Carolina, finished in a tie for 14^th place with a 21-over 885 total. The Tar Heels dropped from No. 31 in the Golfstat rankings to No. 38 following its showing in the Landfall.

   Sophomore Riley Quartermain, a Haverford High product, has worked her way into the starting lineup for North Carolina and she closed with a 1-under 71, her career low with the Tar Heels, to finish in the group tied for 62^nd place with a 225 total. Quartermain opened with a 2-over 74, but struggled in the second round with an 80.

   Quartermain was joined at 225 by Penn State’s Sarah Willis, a fifth-year player from Eaton, Ohio who led the way for the Nittany Lions. Willis matched Quartermain’s final round of 1-under 71. Willis had struggled in the opening round with an 80 before bouncing back with a 2-over 74 in the second round.

   Mathilde Delavallade, a senior from France, has been Penn State’s best player this fall. She finished a shot behind Willis among the group tied for 68^th place at 226 as she matched par in the opening round with a 72, but couldn’t build on her momentum, adding a 6-over 78 in the second round and finishing up with a 76.

   Isha Dhruva, a senior from Katy, Texas, finished in a tie for 84^th place with a 232 total as she opened with a 3-over 75, struggled to an 80 in the second round and closed with a 77.

   Drew Nienhaus, a sophomore from St. Louis, Mo., finished in 91^st place with a 238 total as she bounced back from an opening-round 82 with a 4-over 76 in the second round before closing with an 80.

   It has been an encouraging fall campaign for sophomore Michelle Cox, a three-time PIAA Class AAA qualifier during an outstanding scholastic career at Emmaus, but she struggled in the Landfall. Cox added an 81 in the second round to her opening-round 82 before closing with her best round of the weekend, a 7-over 79, to finish in 95^th place with a 242 total.