Kuehn captures individual title, leads No. 2 Wake Forest to team crown in weather-shortened Valspar Augusta Invitational

   Wake Forest has done what it could do to be as well-prepared for the postseason as it could be.

   The weather brought the curtain down a day early, but the Demon Deacons, No. 2 in the latest Golfstat rankings, likely weren’t going to be denied the team title in the Valspar Augusta Invitational. It was Wake Forest’s fifth team crown of the wraparound 2022-2023 season, breaking the program record for wins in a season.

   Drenching storms Sunday morning forced the cancellation of the final round and shortened the Valspar Augusta Invitational to 36 holes. Wake Forest had added a 4-under-par 284 over the 6,244-yard, par-72 Forest Hills Golf Club layout in Saturday’s second round to its opening round of 9-under 279, the low round of the weekend, for a 13-under 563 total that gave the Demon Deacons an 11-shot victory over host Augusta.

   Three of Wake Forest’s team wins have come since the calendar flipped to 2023 as the Demon Deacons also captured team titles in the UCF Challenge in Orlando, Fla. and in the Nexus Collegiate in the Bahamas in addition to this weekend’s victory in the Valspar Augusta Invitational. The Demon Deacons also finished in fourth place against the loaded field that gathered for the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate on Hilton Head Island, S.C.

   Wake Forest was led by Rachel Kuehn, a senior from Asheville, N.C. and No. 7 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) who added a sparkling 6-under 66 in Saturday’s second round to the 4-under 68 she opened with Friday for a 10-under 134 total that gave her a three-shot victory over Florida State’s Charlotte Heath, a junior from England and No. 22 in the Women’s WAGR.

   It was the sixth career individual win for Kuehn, which left her in a tie for third place for most victories in program history with her mother, who was Brenda Corrie when she won six times at Wake Forest from 1983 to 1986.

   I’m guessing Augusta’s ranking will improve a little from No. 142 following the Jaguars’ runnerup finish with a 2-under 574 total. The reigning Southland Conference champion matched par in Saturday’s second round with a 288 after opening with a 2-under 286.

   No. 12 Florida State, which lost to Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s match-play final last spring, finished a shot behind Augusta in third place with a 1-under 575 total. The Seminoles matched par with a 288 in Friday’s opening round before adding a 1-under 287 in what turned out to be the final round.

   Florida State was led by Heath, who matched Kuehn’s 6-under 66 in Saturday’s second round after opening with a 1-under 71 to finish three shots behind Kuehn in second place with a 7-under 137 total. The 66s by Kuehn and Heath were the low rounds of the weekend.

   Southeastern Conference rivals Mississippi, ranked 18^th and Florida, ranked 21^st, finished two shots behind Florida State in a tie for fourth place, each landing on 1-over 577.

   After opening with a 3-over 291, Ole Miss added a 2-under 286 in Saturday’s final round. Florida’s opening round of 8-under 280 left the Gators just a shot behind Wake Forest, but they backed off in Saturday’s final round with a 9-over 297.

   No. 64 South Florida, an American Athletic Conference entry, was six shots behind Ole Miss and Florida in sixth place with a 7-over 583 total. The Bulls added a 4-over 292 in Saturday’s final round to their opening-round 291.

   No. 46 Oklahoma State, out of the Big 12, was two shots behind USF in seventh place in the 14-team field with a 9-over 585 total as the Cowgirls added a 1-over 289 in Saturday’s final round to their opening round of 8-over 296.

   Backing up Kuehn for Wake Forest was Carolina Chacarra, a sophomore from Spain and No. 51 in the Women’s WAGR who finished among a trio of players tied for sixth place with a 3-under 141 total. Chacarra was right there with Kuehn following an opening round of 4-under 68 before falling back a little with a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s final round.

   Emilia Migliaccio, a graduate student from Cary, N.C. and No. 23 in the Women’s WAGR, and Lauren Walsh, a senior from Ireland and No. 45 in the Women’s WAGR, finished among the group tied for 14^th place, each posting a 1-over 145 total.

   Migliaccio matched par in the opening round with a 72 before adding a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s final round. Walsh matched par in Saturday’s final round with a 72 after opening with a 1-over 73.

   Rounding out the Wake Forest lineup was Mimi Rhodes, a junior from England, who finished among the group tied for 22^nd place with a 2-over 146 total. Rhodes contributed a solid 1-under 71 to Wake Forest’s strong start in the opening round before closing with a 3-over 75.

   Wake Forest will bide its time before opening defense of its ACC crown when the conference championship tees off April 13 at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.

   Three Demon Deacons, Kuehn, Chacarra and Migliaccio, will be back in Augusta in a little more than two weeks, competing in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship, which tees off March 29 at the Champions Retreat Golf Club. The field is cut after two rounds at Champions Resort with the survivors playing the final round April 1 at Augusta National.

   Migliaccio nearly stole the Augusta National Women’s Amateur title in 2021 when she lost in a playoff to Japanese teen Tsubasa Kajitani.

   Mississippi’s Chiara Tamburlini, a senior from Switzerland and No. 46 in the Women’s WAGR, finished in a tie for third place in the individual standings with Augusta’s Daniela Burgos Ortega, a freshman from Mexico who competed as an individual, each landing on 5-under 139, two shots behind Florida State’s Heath.

   Tamburlini, one of the heroes of Ole Miss’ run to a national championship two springs ago at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz., added a 2-under 70 in Saturday’s final round to her 3-under 69 in the opening round.

   Burgos Ortega probably earned some consideration for a spot in the Augusta lineup as she recorded a sparkling 5-under 67 in Saturday’s final round after matching par in the opening round with a 72.

   Florida’s Jackie Lucena, a senior from Chico, Calif., opened with a solid 4-under 68 before matching par in Saturday’s final round with a 72 to finish alone in fifth place with a 4-under 140 total.

   Joining Wake Forest’s Chacarra in the tie for sixth place at 3-under were Lucena’s Florida teammate Annabell Fuller, a senior from England and No. 51 in the Women’s WAGR, and Oklahoma State’s Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, a junior from Australia and No. 78 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Fuller, who played on the Great Britain & Ireland side for a third time in last summer’s Curtis Cup Match at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course, opened with a 2-under 70 and added a 1-under 71 in Saturday’s second round. Hinson-Tolchard opened with a 1-under 71 and closed with a 2-under 70.

   Hinson-Tolchard got the lone point for the Cowgirls in their 4-1 loss to Ole Miss in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match in 2021 at Grayhawk.

   Duke junior Phoebe Brinker, an Archmere Academy product and No. 65 in the Women’s WAGR, headed a group of three players tied for ninth place at 2-under 142 that included South Florida’s Melanie Green, a junior from Medina, N.Y., and Augusta’s Kennedy Carroll, a sophomore from Mount Pleasant, S.C.

   Brinker, the reigning ACC individual champion, carded a pair of 1-under 71s. Green, who represented South Florida as an individual in the NCAA’s Tallahassee Regional last spring, matched Brinker’s splits with a pair of 71s.

   Carroll opened with a solid 3-under 69 before adding a 1-over 73 in Saturday’s final round.

   In addition to Wake Forest’s Kuehn and Chacarra, other top-10 finishers in the Valspar Augusta Invitational who will be back in Augusta in a couple of weeks for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship are Florida State’s Heath, Ole Miss’ Tamburlini and Duke’s Brinker.

   Brinker’s Duke teammate, Rylie Heflin, a sophomore who starred scholastically at the Tower Hill School, finished among the group tied for 44^th place with a 6-over 150 total. Heflin, a resident of Avondale, Chester County just across the Delaware state line in Pennsylvania, opened with a 2-over 74 before adding a 76 in Saturday’s final round.

   The Dookies, a perennial ACC power, finished three shots behind Oklahoma State in eighth place in the team standings with a 12-over 588 total. The Blue Devils, ranked 24^th, opened with a 5-over 293 before adding a 7-over 295 in Saturday’s final round.

   A familiar name popped up in the Coastal Carolina lineup as sophomore Clare Gimpel, who starred scholastically at Mount St. Joseph, finished in the group tied for 65^th place with a 12-over 156 total.

   Gimpel, a member of Mount St. Joe’s 2019 PIAA Class AAA championship team, opened with a 5-over 77 before adding a 79 in Saturday’s final round. The Chanticleers, a Sun Belt Conference entry, finished last in the tough 14-team field with a 918 total after adding a 15-over 303 to their opening-round 315.