Lopez Ramirez the star of the show as she leads Mississippi State to its first SEC crown

 

   In a conference with as much star power as any in the country, it was the star of Mississippi State’s Julia Lopez Ramirez that shone the brightest in last week’s Southeastern Conference Championship at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Fla.

   The SEC Championship mimics the setup of the NCAA Championship with three days of stroke-play qualifying for match play followed by two days of the pure drama of match play.

   And Lopez Ramirez, a senior from Spain and No. 4 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), was there for all of it.

   After capturing the SEC’s individual title for the second year in a row by three shots over some of the best amateur players on the planet, Lopez Ramirez won two of three matches and in the other battled LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad, a graduate student from Sweden and the No. 1 player in the Women’s WAGR, to a draw.

   After knocking off LSU, 3.5-1.5, in last Monday’s semifinals, the Bulldogs found themselves in the final against Texas A&M in a rematch of last year’s SEC title match.

   This time, things were different. With Lopez Ramirez setting the tone with a dominant 5 and 4 victory over Jennie Park, a senior from Carrollton, Texas and No. 99 in the Women’s WAGR, Mississippi State claimed a 3-2 victory over Texas A&M to capture the first SEC crown in the program’s history.

   As is so often the case in these match-play scenarios, where there is the veteran senior coming through like she always does, there is also the precocious freshman, seemingly oblivious to the high-stakes situations in which she suddenly finds herself.

   Avery Weed, a freshman from Ocean Springs, Miss., filled that role quite nicely, thank you. When Weed stiffed her approach to the green at the 17^th hole, it punctuated a 2 and 1 victory over the Aggies’ Zoe Slaughter, a senior from Houston, Texas who has been in a bunch of these high-leverage situations herself over the years, and clinched the SEC title for the Bulldogs.

   Weed went 3-0 in match play for Mississippi State, claiming a 5 and 3 victory over Kentucky’s Marissa Wenzler, a graduate student from Dayton, Ohio, in the Bulldogs’ 3.5-1.5 victory over the Wildcats in the quarterfinals and coming up with a huge 1-up victory over LSU’s Latanna Stone, a graduate student from Riverview, Fla. and No. 34 in the Women’s WAGR, in their stunning upset of the Bayou Tigers in the semifinals.

   All Weed did was roll in a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18^th green to finish off her victory over Stone.

   Stone has match-play cred for days, twice a member of winning U.S. Curtis Cup Match teams and the runnerup to another SEC star, Auburn’s Megan Schofill, a fifth-year player from Monticello, Fla. and No. 9 in the Women’s WAGR, in last summer’s all-SEC U.S. Women’s Amateur final at Bel-Air Country Club.

   Weed, however, seemed unbothered.

   Still, Mississippi State had to overcome Texas A&M’s formidable sister act of Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, a freshman from Spain and No. 7 in the Women’s WAGR, and Bianca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, a graduate student from Spain.

   Bianca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio apparently hung around for a fifth year in College Station to get a chance to play on a team with her younger sister and they accounted for both of A&M’s points in the loss to Mississippi State in the SEC final.

   Bianca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio demolished Mississippi State’s Samura Janthamunee, a sophomore from Thailand, 7 and 6, and Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio rolled to a 5 and 4 victory over the Bulldogs’ Chiara Horder, a junior from Germany.

   The wins by the sisters Fernandez Garcia-Poggio completed a 3-0 run in match play by both of them as they also claimed wins in the Aggies’ 3-2 victory over Georgia in the semifinals and in their 3.5-1.5 triumph over Arkansas in the quarterfinals.

   After capturing the SEC title a year ago, Texas A&M made the deepest postseason run of any of the SEC teams, reaching the semifinals of the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. before falling to eventual national champion Wake Forest.

   Mississippi State got another clutch performance in the title match from Izzy Pellot, a sophomore from Orlando, Fla. who accounted for the Bulldogs’ other full point with a 2 and 1 victory over Adela Cernousek, a junior from France and No. 41 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Pellot earned a full point for Mississippi State in its semifinal win over LSU when she pulled out a 2 and 1 victory over Aine Donegan, a junior from Ireland and No. 84 in the Women’s WAGR. Donegan made the cut and played the weekend in last summer’s U.S. Women’s Open at the Pebble Beach Golf Links.

   The third full point for the Bulldogs against LSU was recorded by Horder as she rallied to claim a 2 and 1 win over Taylor Riley, a sophomore from San Diego, Calif.

   LSU’s lone full point came from Carla Tejedo, a senior from Spain who took a 4 and 3 decision over Janthamunee.

   In Texas A&M’s semifinal victory over Georgia, the older of the Fernandez Garcia-Poggio sisters, Bianca, rolled to a 6 and 5 decision over the Bulldogs’ LoraLie Cowart, while Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio earned the clinching point for the Aggies with a hard-fought 1-up victory over a stubborn Savannah De Bock, a freshman from Belgium.

   Cernousek earned the other point for Texas A&M with a 2 and 1 over Georgia veteran Caterina Don, a fifth-year player from Italy and No. 75 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Georgia’s Thai pair accounted for its two  points as freshman Natachanok “Drive” Tunwannarux knocked off Slaughter, 2 and 1, and graduate student Napat “Jenny” Lertsadwattana edged Park, 1-up.

   In addition to Weed’s victory, Mississippi State’s other two full points in its quarterfinal win over Kentucky came from Lopez Ramirez, who claimed a 2 and 1 decision over the Wildcats’ Laney Frye, a senior from Nicholsville, Ky. and No. 62 in the Women’s WAGR, and Pellot, who knocked off Cathryn Brown, a freshman from Eddyville, Ky.

   Kentucky’s full point came via a victory by 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Jensen Castle, a fifth-year player from West Columbia, S.C. who was a 4 and 3 winner over Janthamunee.

   In Texas A&M’s quarterfinal victory over Arkansas, Bianca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio rolled to a 4 and 3 win over Kendall Todd, a junior from Goodyear, Ariz., and Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio pulled out a 1-up verdict over Razorbacks veteran Kajal Mistry, a graduate student from South Africa.

   The Aggies’ other full point came from Cernousek, who captured a 5 and 4 decision over Marie Jose Marin, a freshman from Colombia, while Park battled Reagan Zibilski, a sophomore from Springfield, Mo., to a draw to pick up a half-point for Texas A&M.

   The outcome of three days of qualifying for match play set up a fascinating battle in the quarterfinals after South Carolina grabbed the top seed with a 3-under 837 total over the 6,150-yard, par-70 Pelican Golf Club layout and LSU settled for eighth place and the final spot in the match-play bracket with a 21-over 861 total.

   Of course, match play being match play, the Bayou Tigers promptly knocked the top-seeded Gamecocks off with a 3-2 victory.

   Lindblad, the top women’s amateur in the world, set the tone with a 7 and 6 rout of Maylis Lamoure, a freshman from France.

   Tejedo then pulled off a 2 and 1 upset of Hannah Darling, a junior from Scotland and No. 25 in the Women’s WAGR, and Riley also won by a 2 and 1 margin over South Carolina’s Vairana Heck, a freshman from France.

   Louise Rydqvist, the Gamecocks’ veteran junior from Sweden and No. 44 in the Women’s WAGR, earned a 1-up victory over Donegan and Mia Sandtorv Lussand, a sophomore from Norway, captured a 2 and 1 decision over Stone, but it wasn’t enough to get South Carolina through to the semifinals.

   Rydqvist had led the way for South Carolina in stroke play, finishing in second place, three shots behind Lopez Ramirez with a 7-under 203 total.

   Georgia earned its spot in the semifinals with a 3.5-1.5 upset of Auburn fueled by Cowart’s 4 and 3 victory over the Plains Tigers’ Schofill, the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and No. 8 in the Women’s WAGR, and Lertsadwattana’s hard-fought 1-up win over Casey Weidenfeld, a redshirt sophomore from Pembroke Pines, Fla. and No. 60 in the Women’s WAGR.

   The Bulldogs’ other full point came from the other of its Thai standouts as Tunwannarux pulled out a 1-up victory over Katie Cranston, a sophomore from Canada.

   Auburn’s lone full point came from Anna Davis, the freshman from Spring Valley, Calif. and No. 17 in the Women’s WAGR who joined the Plains Tigers in time for the spring semester. Davis, winner of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship as a 16-year-old in 2022, earned a 2-up victory over Georgia’s Don in one of several matchups of players in the Women’s WAGR top 100 during the SEC Championship.

   South Carolina got the jump in qualifying for match play with an opening round of 5-under 275 and never relinquished the lead as the Gamecocks added a 2-over 282 in the second round and matched par in the final round with a 280 for a 3-under 837 total. The three days of stroke play wrapped up on the Sunday of the final round of The Masters.

   Auburn was always in the chase for the top seed in match play as the Plains Tigers opened with a solid 1-under 279 and added a 3-over 283 in the second round that left them five shots behind South Carolina going into the final round. Auburn closed with a 2-under 278 to end up three shots behind the Gamecocks in second place with an even-par 840 total.

   Texas A&M only trailed South Carolina by two shots going into the final round after the Aggies added a 1-over 281 in the second round to their opening round of 1-under 279. Texas A&M closed with a 3-over 283 to finish three shots behind Auburn in third place with a 3-over 843 total.

   Mississippi State, behind individual champion Lopez Ramirez, began its run to the SEC title by finishing five shots behind Texas A&M in fourth place as the Bulldogs matched par in the first and final rounds with a pair of 280s around an 8-over 288 in the second round for an 8-over 848 total.

   Lopez Ramirez finished with a flourish, a sparkling 5-under 65 in the final round that gave her a second straight SEC individual title with a 10-under 200 total. She wasn’t bad in the first two rounds, either adding a 2-under 68 in the second round to her opening round of 3-under 67.

   Rydqvist matched Lopez Ramirez’s final-round 65 to earn runnerup honors in the individual chase and lead South Carolina to the top seed in match play with a 7-under 203 total. Rydqvist had opened with a 2-under 68 and matched par in the second round with a 70.

   Kentucky had the best team score of the final round, a 5-under 275, as the Wildcats finished five shots behind Mississippi State in fifth place with a 13-over 853 total. Kentucky opened with a 6-over 286 and struggled a little in the second round with a 292.

   It was four shots back to Arkansas in sixth place as the Razorbacks struggled to a 292 in the second round after opening with a solid 2-over 282 before closing with a 3-over 283 for a 17-over 857 total.

   Georgia finished in seventh place as the Peachtree Bulldogs added a solid 1-over 281 in the second round to their opening-round 291 before closing with an 8-over 288 for a 20-over 860 total.

   LSU found its groove in the final round with a 2-over 282 as the Bayou Tigers grabbed the final spot in the match-play bracket with a 21-over 861 total that left them a shot behind Georgia in eighth place. LSU had opened with a 5-over 285, but struggled to a 294 in the second round.

   Backing up Rydqvist as South Carolina nailed down the top seed in the match-play bracket was Darling, twice a member of the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team who was coming off a seventh-place finish in the Augusta National Women’s Am a week earlier.

   Darling opened with a solid 3-under 67 and matched par in the second round with a 70 before closing with a 1-over 71 that left her in a tie for sixth place in the individual standings with Texas A&M’s Cernousek at 2-under 208.

   The Gamecocks’ Heck was the picture of consistency as she rattled off three straight 1-over 71s to finish among the trio tied for 17^th place with a 3-over 213 total. Sandtorv Lussand joined Heck in the group at 3-over as she added a 1-over 71 in the second round to her opening round of 1-under 69 before closing with a 73.

   Lamoure rounded out the South Carolina lineup as she finished among a trio of players tied for 47^th place with a 221 total. After opening with a 2-over 72, Lamoure added a 74 in the second round before closing with a 75.

   Kentucky’s Frye had three rounds in the 60s to finish a short behind Rydqvist in third place in the individual chase with a 6-under 204 total. Frye opened with a 2-under 68 and added a 69 in the second round before finishing up with a 67.

   Auburn’s Davis also had three rounds in the 60s as the talented left-hander finished a shot behind Frye in fourth place with a 4-under 206 total. Davis posted back-to-back 1-under 69s in the first two rounds before closing with a 68.

   LSU’s Lindblad, coming off a third-place finish in the Augusta National Women’s Am, finished a shot behind Davis in fifth place with a 3-under 207 total. Lindblad added a 1-under 69 in the second round to her opening-round 68 before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   Cernousek sandwiched an even-par 70 in the second round with a pair of 1-under 69s to join Darling in the tie for sixth place, a shot behind Lindblad at 2-under.

   Texas A&M’s Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Boggio finished in a tie for eighth place with Virginia’s Virginie Ding, a senior from Hong Kong, each landing on even-par 210.

   Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Boggio opened with a sparkling 4-under 66, but backed off in the second round with a 3-over 73 before finishing up with a 71. Ding matched par in the second round with a 70 after opening with a 1-under 69 and then closed with a 1-over 71.

   Rounding out a pretty talented top 10 was Auburn’s Weidenfeld, who was coming off a tie for fifth place in the Augusta National Women’s Am, as she finished alone in 10^th place with a 1-over 211 total. Weidenfeld opened with a solid 2-under 68 and added a 2-over 72 in the second round before finishing up with a 1-over 71.

   Expect to hear the names of a lot of SEC schools when the NCAA regional fields are unveiled at 2 p.m. (Eastern) Wednesday on The Golf Channel. And expect quite a few of them to be in the field when the NCAA Championship tees off May 17 at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s Champions Course in Carlsbad, Calif.