Notre Dame's Bodge edges EA's Griffin by a shot to claim Inter-Ac's individual title at Sandy Run

 

   SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP -- Kiersten Bodge is just wrapping up her junior year at the Academy of Notre Dame, but she already owns a couple of women’s club championships at neighboring Overbrook Golf Club and a ninth-place finish in the Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur Championship two summers ago at Waynesborough Country Club.

   What Kiersten Bodge did not have was an Inter-Ac League individual title, despite contending for that crown every spring since she first teed it up as a seventh-grader in 2022.

   Well, Kiersten Bodge took care of that missing piece on her scholastic resume Tuesday by carding a 1-over-par 37 to edge Episcopal Academy sophomore Julia Griffin by a shot at a wind-blown Sandy Run Country Club, one of the many classic layouts that dot the landscape in that part of Montgomery County.

   The Inter-Ac girls came to contest the league’s individual championship at Sandy Run and the British Open broke out. Winds were gusting in the 30-mph range, particularly on the higher elevations at Sandy Run.

   “I had to back away from a couple of putts because the ball was being jostled by the wind,” Kiersten Bodge said.

   Kiersten Bodge was the runnerup to Baldwin’s Megan Aldeman in 2022 and 2023 and finished second behind Episcopal Academy’s Clarissa Leung in 2024 before finishing in sixth place a year ago as Leung repeated.

   All of those Inter-Ac Championships were contested at French Creek Golf Club, a quirky early Gil Hanse design in the northwest corner of Chester County.

   The girls were playing the shortish IV tees at Sandy Run, which measured only 2,719 yards for the outgoing nine. It probably played into Kiersten Bodge’s hands a little because she was really solid off the tee and was able to nearly reach the green on some of the short par-4s.

   “I guess I feel more relieved than anything,” Kiersten Bodge said after becoming the first Notre Dame player to claim the Inter-Ac’s individual crown since Meghan Fahey did it a decade ago. “It was pretty nice to be able to have those little chips into some of the par-4s.”

   Kiersten Bodge got it into red figures with a birdie at the 318-yard, par-4 third hole.

   “I was up close and chipped it to six feet and made the putt,” Kiersten Bodge said.

   But she missed the green at the fifth hole and couldn’t get it up and down for par and then took three putts for a bogey at six when the wind was really howling.

   Kiersten Bodge held a one-shot edge on her playing partner Griffin when Griffin did drive the green at the uphill 276-yard, par-4 seventh hole.

   Kiersten Bodge was right in front of the green, but couldn’t get it up and down for birdie. Griffin, however, two-putted for birdie, dropping a tough five-footer on her second putt, to pull even with Kiersten Bodge.

   It looked like Griffin was headed for a big number at the par-5 eighth hole when she bladed her approach off the back of the green and then watched her putt sail all the way across the green and off the front.

   But then Griffin miraculously drained her 25-foot par putt from off the front of the green to save par and remain tied for the lead going to the 273-yard, par-4 ninth hole.

    Griffin’s tee shot found a fairway bunker on the left and she was still short of the green with her approach. Kiersten Bodge was in the fairway, but was partially blocked by the big tree on the right side of the hole and she, too, left her approach short of the green.

   Kiersten Bodge hit her third shot 15 feet left of the flag and calmly drained her par putt. Griffin was a little inside Kiersten Bodge, but couldn’t get her 12-footer for par to fall as she settled for runnerup honors with a 2-over 38.

   Kiersten Bodge’s swing coach is John Dunigan, who was named the Philadelphia Section PGA’s Teacher & Coach of the Year for a fifth time in 2025. Their work on keeping the ball low in the wind paid off in a big way Tuesday at Sandy Run.

   “He’ll be happy to hear about that,” Kiersten Bodge said.

   Kiersten Bodge was the individual medalist in each of the five invitationals that comprise the Inter-Ac’s regular season, the girls adopting a similar format last year to the one the boys have used for more than decade.

   “I won every match,” Kiersten Bodge said. “My average was right about 38.”

   Kiersten Bodge has a busy summer of golf ahead of her.

   “I’ll be playing an AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) Memorial Day weekend,” Kiersten Bodge said. “And I’ll be trying to qualify for the U.S. Girls’ Junior, the Girls PGA Junior and the U.S. Women’s Amateur.”

   Kiersten Bodge put the recruiting process behind her when she made a verbal commitment last September to join head coach Kristen Simpson’s program at Penn State in the summer of 2027. Simpson has the Nittany Lions very much on the rise.

   Griffin and her Episcopal Academy teammates once again ruled the Inter-Ac, the Churchwomen finishing first in four of the five invitationals to capture the league for the eighth straight time.

   Only a global pandemic has been able to stop Episcopal as the arrival of the coronavirus in the spring of 2020 forced the cancellation of the spring golf season.

   A trio of Agnes Irwin players, Makayla Stone, a mighty mite of a senior, junior Anna Rufo, and sophomore Sydney Wellen shared third place, each ending up five shots behind Griffin with a 7-over 43.

   Rufo played in the lead group along with Kiersten Bodge, Griffin and Kiersten Bodge’s younger sister, Katelyn, an eighth-grader who finished alone in sixth place with a 44 in the fierce winds.

   Another Agnes Irwin player, junior Audrey Comly, finished a shot behind Katelyn Bodge in seventh place with a 45 and Episcopal Academy junior Hadley Stetson was another shot behind Comly in eighth with a 46.

   Baldwin’s Charlotte Grant and Springside Chestnut Hill Academy’s Sammi Acuna shared ninth place, each posting a 48.

   Episcopal Academy junior Marietta Hartmann and Notre Dame sophomore Claire Toohey finished in a tie for 11^th place as each signed for a 49.

   Episcopal Academy junior C.J. Nichols and Springside Chestnut Hill’s Addison Murphy landed in a tie for 13^th place, each recording a 51.

   A couple of Episcopal Academy players rounded out the elite field of 16 girls as senior Charlotte Franklin took 15^th place with a 52 and junior Muriel Fitz-Kaltenmeier was 16^th with a 55.

 

 

 

 

 

Southern Cal keeps its roll going as Koo claims individual title to lead Trojans to a Big Ten crown

 

   Southern California and Stanford are no longer in the same league, the old Pac-12 having died an untimely death a few summers ago.

   But at No. 2 and No. 1, respectively, in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings, the Women of Troy and the Cardinal appear to be on a collision course that may or may not be resolved by the end of this month in the NCAA Championship at the Omni LaCosta Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

   Southern Cal, in the first Big Ten Championship staged in Southern California at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale, Calif., rolled to its first conference championship in its second shot at a Big Ten crown by 12 shots over a Big Ten OG in Ohio State.

   While Stanford was dominating the field in the Atlantic Coast Conference at Porters Neck Country Club in Wilmington, N.C., the Trojans were doing the same thing on the other side of the country, although the Big Ten played just a 54-hole stroke-play event while the ACC added a layer of match play to mimic the format for the NCAA Championship.

   With individual champion Jasmine Koo, a sophomore from Cerritos, Calif. and No. 13 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), leading the way, Southern Cal opened with a 3-under 277 over the 6,107-yard, par-70 Oakmont layout and added a 1-under 279 before closing with an 8-over 288 in gusty winds in the final round April 26^th for a 4-over 844 total.

   It was the Trojans’ seventh victory in the wraparound 2025-2026 season and sixth straight tournament title. They were awarded the top seed in the Ann Arbor Regional when the NCAA regional bids were announced Wednesday on The Golf Channel.

   Despite its location in Southern California, USC head coach Justin Silverstein said his players had never laid eyes on the Oakmont layout until getting in a practice round before the Big Ten Championship.

   But the Trojans proved to be a quick study.

   Koo opened with a 1-under 69 and matched par in the second round with a 70 before closing with a 68 that gave her a 3-under 207 total and a two-shot victory over teammate Bailey Shoemaker, a junior from Dade City, Fla. and No. 48 in the Women’s WAGR, and Ohio State’s Nellie Ong, a sophomore from England and No. 52 in the Women’s WAGR.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 70, Shoemaker ripped off a sizzling 5-under 65, the low individual round of the tournament, in the second round that gave her a one-shot lead over Purdue’s Luana Valero, a freshman from Colombia, in the individual chase going into the final round.

   Shoemaker struggled a little in the final round with a 4-over 74 that left her two shots behind her teammate Koo with a 1-under 209 total.

   Elise Lee, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif. and No. 55 in the Women’s WAGR, and Catherine Park, the veteran senior who also hails from Irvine and is No. 11 in the Women’s WAGR, gave Southern Cal two more top-10 finishers as they were part of a four-way logjam tied for ninth place at 4-over 214.

   Lee opened with a 1-under 69 and added a 1-over 71 in the second round before finishing up with a 4-over 74.

   Park opened with a 1-under 69 and added a 3-over 73 in the second round before closing with a 72.

   Koo and Park were teammates on the United States team that dropped a hard-fought 10.5-9.5 in the Curtis Cup Match at Sunningdale Golf Club in the summer of 2024.

   They were also invited to attend a practice session for candidates for this year’s U.S. Curtis Cup that was held in December at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif., site of the biennial matches against a team from Great Britain & Ireland in June.

   Only a Lottie Woad-Mirabel Ting-led Florida State team prevented a Southern Cal-Stanford showdown in last spring’s NCAA Championship, the Seminoles halting the Trojans’ postseason run in the quarterfinals at La Costa.

   Ohio State, behind Ong’s tie for second place in the individual standings, earned runnerup honors in the team standings with a 16-over 856 total.

   The Buckeyes, under head coach Lisa Strom, the 1994 PIAA champion as a senior at Lansdale Catholic, opened with a 2-over 282 and added a 5-over 285 in the second round before closing with a 289.

   Ohio State, which improved from No. 32 to No. 29 in the Scoreboard rankings following the Big Ten Championship, is also headed for the Ann Arbor Regional, where it will be the fifth seed.

   Ong opened with a solid 2-under 68 and added a 2-over 72 in the second round before finishing up with a 69 to get a share of second place with Shoemaker.

   Ohio State also got a solid showing from Sophie Eppelstein, a freshman from Australia who finished among a foursome of players tied for fifth place at 3-over 283. Eppelstein opened with a 1-under 69 and added a 1-over 71 in the second round before closing with a 73.

   Purdue, behind Valero’s fourth-place finish in the individual standings, was six shots behind Ohio State in third place with a 23-over 863 total.

   The Boilermakers, who dropped four spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 45 to No. 41 with its solid showing at Oakmont, added a 3-over 283 in the second round to their opening-round 284 before closing with a 296 in the final round’s gusty winds.

   Purdue will represent the Big Ten as a seven seed in the Tallahassee Regional.

   Valero was just a shot off of Shoemaker’s pace in the individual chase going into the final round after Valero opened with a sparkling 3-under 67 and added a 69 in the second round. She closed with a 4-over 74 to end up in fourth place at even-par 210.

   Lauren Timpf, a sophomore from Macomb, Mich., joined Ohio State’s Eppelstein in the quartet tied for fifth place at 3-over for Purdue as Timpf bounced back from an opening round of 4-over 74 with a 3-under 67 in the second round before closing with a 72.

   Indiana moved up a spot from No. 46 to No. 45 in the Scoreboard rankings by finishing in fourth place, nine shots behind Purdue with a 32-over 872 total.

   After opening with a 12-over 282, the Hoosiers put up a solid 5-over 285 in the second round before closing with a 295.

   Indiana’s showing at Oakmont just might have been enough to earn it an at-large bid to an NCAA regional as the Hoosiers will be seeded eighth in Louisville.

   UCLA and Illinois shared fifth place, each ending up a shot behind Indiana with a 33-over 873 total.

   The Bruins, who dropped a spot in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 14 to No. 15 following the Big Ten Championship, opened with a 17-over 297 and added a 7-over 287 in the second round before closing with a 289.

   UCLA is headed for the Tallahassee Regional as a three seed.

   Illinois, which moved up three spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 50 to No. 47 following its showing at Oakmont, opened with a solid 2-over 282 and added a 289 in the second round before struggling to a 302 in the final round.

   The Fightin’ Illini were led by Brielle Mapanao, a freshman from Australia who landed among the foursome tied for ninth place at 4-over. Mapanao added a 1-over 71 in the second round to her opening-round 73 before matching par in the final round with a 70.

   Illinois will return to the West Coast after earning a spot in the field for the Stanford Regional as an eight seed.

   Penn State is the only team among the top-10 finishers in the Big Ten Championship that will not be moving on to the NCAA regionals as the Nittany Lions finished in seventh place with a 35-over 875 total.

   Penn State opened with a solid 4-over 284 and closed with a 9-over 289, but struggled in the middle round with a 302. The Nittany Lions were No. 62 in the Scoreboard rankings following the Big Ten Championship.

   Audrey Lam, a freshman from Belgium, rounded out the quartet tied for ninth place at 4-over to lead the way for Penn State. Lam got off to a fast start with a 2-under 68 and added a 4-over 74 in the second round before closing with a 72.

   Still, an encouraging season for Penn State, which I’ll delve into a little later in this post.

   Perennial Big Ten power Michigan State finished two shots behind Penn State in eighth place with a 37-over 877 total.

 The Spartans, who moved up a spot in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 40 to 39 following their showing at Oakmont, were solid in the first two rounds, adding a 6-over 286 in the second round to their opening-round 285, but struggled in the final round with a 306.

   Michigan State was led by Taylor Kehoe, a veteran senior from Canada and No.79 in the Women’s WAGR, as she landed in the quartet tied for fifth place at 3-over. Kehoe added a solid 2-under 68 in the second round to her opening round of 1-over 71 before closing with a 74.

   Michigan State was awarded a spot in the field in the Chapel Hill Regional as a seven seed.

   Oregon had won the Big Ten title in its first year as a member of the conference a year ago at the Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, Md. and finished in ninth place in defense of its crown with a 38-over 878 total that left the Ducks a shot behind Michigan State.

   Pretty significant caveat in the Oregon result as the Ducks were without their best player, Kiara Romero, a junior from San Jose, Calif. who is the No. 1 player in the Women’s WAGR.

   Romero accepted an invitation to play in The Chevron Championship, the first major championship of the year on the LPGA Tour’s calendar. She missed the cut with a 5-over 149 total at the Memorial Park Golf Course in Houston, Texas, but gained a ton of experience and, let’s face it, the LPGA Tour and major championships is where Romero is headed.

   In Romero’s absence, Oregon opened with a 10-over 290 and added a 291 in the second round before closing with a 297.

   Oregon came into the Big Ten Championship at No. 6 in the Scoreboard rankings and left Oakmont at No. 8. Still, the Ducks are headed for the Waco Regional as a two seed.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the 18-team Big Ten Championship field was reigning national champion Northwestern as the Wildcats finished in 10^th place with a 45-over 885 total.

   Northwestern opened with a 10-over 290 and added a 299 in the second round before closing with a 296.

   Northwestern is always at its most dangerous at this time of the year as the Wildcats proved with their stunning upset of Stanford in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match a year ago at La Costa.

   Northwestern fell a couple of spots in the Scoreboard rankings from No. 30 to No. 32 in the aftermath of the Big Ten Championship. The Wildcats will open defense of their national title as a six seed in the Ann Arbor Regional.

   Rounding out the Southern California lineup was Kylie Chong, a sophomore from Torrance, Calif. and No. 57 in the Women’s WAGR, as she finished among the group tied for 25^th place with a 10-over 220 total.

   Chong recorded back-to-back 3-over 73s in the first two rounds before closing with a 74.

   Koo, Shoemaker, Park and Chong were all in the lineup when Southern Cal fell to Florida State in the quarterfinals at La Costa a year ago.

   Minnesota’s Isabella McCauley, a senior from Inver Grove Heights, Minn., closed with a 1-under 69 to join Purdue’s Timpf, Ohio State’s Eppelstein and Michigan State’s Kehoe in the foursome tied for fifth place at 3-over.

   McCauley had opened with a 4-over 74 before matching par in the second round with a 70.

   The Golden Gophers finished 11 shots behind Purdue in 11^th place with a 56-over 896 total

   McCauley will wrap up one of the great careers in the history of the Minnesota program competing as an individual in the Ann Arbor Regional.

   Backing up Lam for Penn State was Jiratchaya Jiratthitinun, a sophomore from Thailand, who finished in the group tied for 16^th place with a 7-over 217 total. Jiratthitinun sandwiched a 5-over 75 in the second round with a pair of solid 1-over 71s.

   Sophomore Hannah Rabb, the PIAA Class AA champion as a junior at Warrior Run in 2022 and the reigning Pennsylvania Women’s Amateur champion, capped her first season at Penn State by finishing in the group tied for 29^th place with an 11-over 221 total.

   Rabb, who transferred to Penn State after a solid freshman season at James Madison, opened with a solid 1-over 71 and struggled with a 78 in the second round before closing with a 72.

   Mara King, a freshman from Lake Mary, Fla., finished among a trio of players tied for 38^th place with a 13-over 223 total. King sandwiched a 5-over 75 in the second round with a pair of 74s.

   Rounding out the Penn State lineup was Lauren Thompstone, a sophomore from France who finished in the group tied for 72^nd place with a 234 total. After opening with a 6-over 76, Thompstone added back-to-back 79s in the final two rounds.

   Kristen Simpson, in her third year as Penn State’s head coach, took a young team to Oakmont, a team that definitely made some strides this season.

   A Big Ten that was already tough got exponentially tougher with the addition of Southern Cal, UCLA, Oregon and Washington. But Simpson beefed up the schedule and is casting a wider recruiting net and the results of those initiatives started to show up during the wraparound 2025-'26 season.

   Sophomore Megan Meng, who starred scholastically at Hopewell Valley Central in Pennington, N.J., was in the lineup for Northwestern and finished among the group tied for 61^st place with a 227 total.

   Meng matched par in the opening round with a 70, but struggled after that, posting a 7-over 77 in the second round before closing with an 80.