Hertzman leads the way as LSU beats South Carolina and an elite field to take title in Darius Rucker Intercollegiate

   With its victory over a loaded field in the annual celebration of women’s college golf that the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate has become, LSU made a statement that the Bayou Tigers plan to be a force to be reckoned with as the wraparound 2022-2023 hurtles toward what figures to be an eventful postseason.

   It’s not like LSU came out of nowhere. The Bayou Tigers survived the match-play gauntlet to capture the team crown in the Southeastern Conference last spring. They made it to the final day of qualifying for match play in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., but came up a little short of getting into the match-play bracket.

   LSU’s victory in the Darius Rucker was its fourth of the season and second straight of the spring, coming on the heels of its team success in the Moon Golf Invitational at Suntree Country Club’s Classic Course in Melbourne, Fla.

   But the Darius Rucker is another matter. Wouldn’t be shocked to see every member of the 17-team field in the NCAA regionals later this spring. Any team from this field that doesn’t make the regionals will be left wondering why.

   Darius Rucker, the rocker who gained fame as the front man for Hootie & the Blowfish, has become one of college golf’s biggest supporters and his energy and vision have made the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate at the Long Cove Club on Hilton Head Island, S.C. one of the biggest events this side of the NCAA Championship in the women’s game. The Darius Rucker is hosted by South Carolina, Rucker’s alma mater.

   For the second straight year, The Golf Channel’s cameras were rolling for the Darius Rucker. And that guitar that passes as a trophy has become one of the most coveted prizes in women’s college golf.

   LSU got to take the guitar that goes to the team champion home to Baton Rouge. The Bayou Tigers came into Wednesday’s final round trailing host and SEC rival South Carolina by four shots after adding a 4-over 484 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening round of 1-under 283 over the 6,220-yard, par-71 Long Cove Club layout.

   Behind a final round of 4-under 67 from rapidly improving freshman Swede Edit Hertzman that nearly earned her the individual title, LSU closed with a 3-over 287 to finish with a 6-over 858 total that gave it a four-shot victory over South Carolina.

   Hertzman came up a shot short of the individual title, which went to South Carolina’s Mathilde Claisse, a senior from France, but it was a tense battle between the two down the stretch. The Long Cove Club has increasingly become one of the stars of the show in the Darius Rucker as the tough test creates the kind of drama you saw in both the team and individual races on the back nine Wednesday afternoon.

   Claisse drew even with Hertzman when she dropped a long, downhill putt for birdie at the par-5 15^th hole. Hertzman, playing a group ahead of Claisse, bogeyed the tough par-3 17^th hole and Claisse made a tough up-and-down from a bunker for par at 17 to grab a one-shot lead.

   Claisse found the green with a nice approach to the par-4 18^th hole and nearly holed her birdie try, but the tap-in par was good enough to get her a guitar of her own.

   After back-to-back 2-under 69s in the first two rounds, Claisse again got it in under par in the final round with a 1-under 70 for a 5-under 208 total.

   Hertzman had matched Claisse’s opening-round 69 before struggling a little in Tuesday’s second round with a 2-over 73. Hertzman’s final-round 67 left her a shot behind Claisse with a 4-under 209 total.

   Claisse had helped the host Gamecocks grab the lead through two rounds as they matched par in Tuesday’s second round with a 284 after matching LSU’s 1-under 283 in the opening round. South Carolina closed with an 11-over 295 to finish four shots behind LSU with a 10-over 862 total.

   LSU maintained its No. 6 spot in the Golfstat rankings that it had when it arrived at Hilton Head Island and South Carolina remained at No. 4.

   Auburn, which carried the SEC banner all the way to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring, finished four shots behind South Carolina in third place with a 14-over 866 total. Also the Tigers – although in Auburn’s case there are options, the Plainswomen, the War Eagles, etc. – Auburn only trailed South Carolina and LSU by two shots following an opening round of 1-over 285.

   The Tigers were still very much in the hunt, despite an 8-over 292 in Tuesday’s second hunt, before closing with a solid 5-over 289. Auburn moved up a spot in the Golfstat rankings from No. 15 to No. 14 with its showing in the Darius Rucker.

   The highest-ranked team in the elite field, No. 2 Wake Forest, the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference champion, finished a shot behind Auburn in fourth place with a 15-over 867 total. The Demon Deacons struggled a little in the first two rounds, adding an 8-over 292 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening-round 291 before matching par in the final round with a 284, the best team score on the last day.

   It was another four shots back to reigning Big 12 champion Texas in fifth place as the Longhorns added a solid 2-over 286 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening-round 295 before closing with a 6-over 290 for a 19-over 871 total. Texas maintained its hold on the No. 8 spot in the Golfstat rankings with its fifth-place finish.

   Pac-12 power Arizona State finished a shot behind Texas in sixth place with a 20-over 872 total as the Sun Devils added a 7-over 291 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening-round 292 before closing with its best round of the tournament, a 5-over 289. Arizona State fell from No. 12 to No. 16 in the Golfstat rankings in the aftermath of the Darius Rucker.

   Baylor, Texas’ Big 12 rival, finished a shot behind Arizona State in seventh place with a 21-over 873 total. The Bears were consistent, opening with a 7-over 291 and adding a 293 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 5-over 289. Baylor dropped a spot in the Golfstat rankings from No. 9 to No. 10 following the Darius Rucker.

   Backing up Hartzman for LSU was Ingrid Lindblad, the Bayou Tigers senior star from Sweden who is No. 2 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). Lindblad was LSU’s Day 1 medalist with a sparkling 3-under 68. She added a 2-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 74 as she finished in a tie for 11^th place with a 2-over 215 total.

   Aine Donegan, a sophomore from Ireland, also had a strong showing for the Bayou Tigers as she finished among the group tied for 13^th place with a 3-over 216 total. After opening with a 5-over 76, Donegan came up with back-to-back 1-under 70s in the final two rounds that were crucial to LSU’s success in Hilton Head.

   Latanna Stone, LSU’s veteran senior from Riverview, Fla. and No. 37 in the Women’s WAGR, finished among the group tied for 45^th place with a 9-over 222 total. After opening with a 74, Stone carded a 1-over 72 before closing with a 5-over 76.

   Stone and Lindblad both contended in last spring’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship before ending up in a tie for second place behind California teen Anna Davis.

   Rounding out the LSU lineup was Carla Tejedo, a junior from Spain and No. 52 in the Women’s WAGR who opened with a solid 1-over 72, added a 76 in Tuesday’s second round and struggled to an 80 in the final round as she finished in the trio tied for 71^st place with a 228 total.

   Baylor’s Rosie Belsham, a junior from England and No. 98 in the Women’s WAGR, was the only other player to finish under par besides Claisse and Hertzman, as she ended up alone in third place with a 1-under 212 total, three shots behind Hertzman. Belsham added a 1-over 72 in Tuesday’s second round to the solid 2-under 69 she opened with before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   Four players landed in a tie for fourth place at even-par 213, including Texas’ Cindy Hsu, a freshman from Taiwan, Georgia’s Jenny Bae, a fifth-year player from Suwanee, Ga. and No. 29 in the Women’s WAGR, Oregon’s Ashleigh Park, a junior from Irvine, Calif., and Vanderbilt’s Celina Sattelkau, a senior from Germany and No. 88 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Hsu matched the low round of the day in the final round with a sparkling 5-under 67. She had opened with a 3-over 74 and added a 72 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Bae added a 1-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 72 before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   Park, who transferred to reigning Pac-12 champion Oregon from Texas, opened with a 1-under 70 and added a 72 in Tuesday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 71. The Ducks finished in ninth place in the team standings with a 25-over 877 total, but maintained their lofty No. 3 spot in the Golfstat rankings.

   After opening with a 73, Sattelkau recorded a solid 3-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 1-over 72. Vanderbilt, another SEC power, finished in eighth place in the team standings, two shots behind Baylor with a 23-over 875 total. The Commodores moved up a spot in the Golfstat rankings from No. 20 to No. 19 in the aftermath of the Darius Rucker.

   Wake Forest’s Emilia Migliaccio, a graduate student from Cary, N.C., and No. 24 in the Women’s WAGR, Kentucky’s Jensen Castle, a senior from West Columbia, S.C. and No. 22 in the Women’s WAGR, and Duke junior Phoebe Brinker, the reigning ACC individual champion who starred scholastically at Archmere Academy and is No. 73 in the Women’s WAGR, comprised a stellar trio tied for eighth place at the Long Cove Club, each landing on 1-over 214.

   It seems like it’s been light years since Migliaccio, then a sophomore, was the individual champion and led Wake Forest to the team crown in the Darius Rucker in 2020. A few weeks later, with the coronavirus pandemic suddenly upon us, the college golf season was over.

   Migliaccio took a gap year last season and was at the Darius Rucker interviewing players as an intern for The Golf Channel. She plans to remain an amateur for the foreseeable future and by taking the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA to make up for the lost spring of 2020, Migliaccio makes Wake Forest a national championship contender.

   Migliaccio added a 2-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 73 before matching the low round of the final round with a 4-over 67. Migliaccio might not be focusing on a career as a pro golfer, but she can still play.

   Castle, the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, added a 1-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round to her opening-round 72 before matching par in the final round with a 71. Kentucky, another SEC entry, finished in 15^th place in the team standings in the Darius Rucker with a 42-over 894 total. The Wildcats improved two spots in the Golfstat rankings from No. 23 to No. 21 following the Darius Rucker.

   Migliaccio, Castle and LSU’s Stone were all members of the U.S. team that retained the Curtis Cup with a 15.5-4.5 victory over Great Britain & Ireland last summer at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course.

   After opening with a 72, Brinker got it going in Tuesday’s second round with a 2-under 69 before closing with a 2-over 73. Duke, Wake Forest’s ACC rival, finished in a tie for 10^th place in the team standings with a 29-over 881 total. The showing enabled the Blue Devils to jump up a couple of spots in the Golfstat rankings from No. 30 to No. 28.

   South Carolina’s Katherine Muzi, a graduate student from Newport Beach, Calif. who competed as an individual, joined LSU’s Lindblad in the tie for 11^th place at 2-over. Muzi, who transferred to South Carolina from Southern California, matched par with a 71 in the opening round before adding back-to-back 1-over 72s in the final two rounds.

   Brinker’s Duke teammate, sophomore Rylie Heflin, another former Delaware scholastic standout at Tower Hill School, had a strong showing in the Darius Rucker, matching par in the final round with a 71 to finish in the group tied for 30^th place with a 7-over 220 total. Heflin, a resident of Avondale, Chester County, just over the state line from Delaware, had opened with a 76 before adding a 2-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Sattelkau’s Vanderbilt teammate, sophomore Natasha Kiel, a New Hope native who starred at George School before finishing up her scholastic career at Montverde Academy in Florida, was in the lineup for the Commodores and finished among the group tied for 63^rd place with a 226 total. After opening with a 75, Kiel had her best round of the tournament, a 3-over 74, in Tuesday’s second round, before closing with a 77.

   Virginia junior Jennifer Cleary, who, like Heflin, starred scholastically at Tower Hill, struggled a little at the Long Cove Club, adding back-to-back 77s in the final two rounds to her opening round of 4-over 75 as she finished in a tie for 74^th place with a 229 total.

   The Cavaliers, another ACC entry, struggled as a team, too, as they finished in 14^th place with a 38-over 890 total. Virginia was able to maintain its Golfstat ranking at No. 13 in the aftermath of the Darius Rucker.