South Carolina weathers the Southern California storms to emerge with title in Therese Hession Regional Challenge

 

   The spring portion of the wraparound 2023-2024 college golf season is just getting under way and for tournament host Ohio State the Therese Hession Regional Challenge, presented by Northrop Grumman, is a chance get out of the gloom of mid-winter in Columbus and head for sunny Southern California and Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.

   Well, the weather in the first weekend of February in SoCal didn’t exactly cooperate. Lots of talk of El Ninos and atmospheric rivers, but the bottom line was wind and rain, the kind of stuff you’re likely to get in March and April in the eastern half of the country. If college golf does nothing else, it teaches you how to figure out a way to get a number in even the most difficult of conditions.

   Therese Hession, the event’s namesake, was the longtime head coach at Ohio State. The current boss of the Buckeyes, Lisa Strom, the 1994 PIAA champion at Lansdale Catholic, played under Hession and was an assistant coach at Ohio State before successful stints as the head coach at Texas State and Kent State led her back to her alma mater.

   Give Strom and whomever else was involved with staging the Hession a lot of credit. They were looking at the weather forecast and were very pro-active. The tournament, originally scheduled to be a 54-hole medal play event beginning Sunday and ending Tuesday was shifted to match play and the start moved up a day. The 16 teams each played two matches Saturday before the worst of the weather arrived and then snuck in another round of matches Sunday.

   Didn’t see much about the weather in the roundups from the round of matches Sunday, but it couldn’t have been great. Don’t think they quite got the hurricane-force winds that forced the cancellation of the final round of the PGA Tour’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am up the coast on the Monterey Peninsula, but a few raindrops, wind and temperatures in the 50s was not exactly the picture post-card conditions you might expect in L.A.

   Having said all that, the Hession, which annually brings together top teams from every part of the country – hence the Regional Challenge part of the name of the tournament – ended up with a couple of terrific semifinal matches Sunday with Southeastern Conference power South Carolina knocking off reigning national champion Wake Forest, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, 4-1, and Big 12 power Texas edging Florida, another one of the SEC’s top programs, 3-2.

   South Carolina was awarded the tournament title when Monday’s matches were canceled in a tiebreaker with Texas. The first tiebreaker was most points won and that didn’t decide it as the teams were tied in that category and South Carolina took the title on the second tiebreaker, most holes won, and that was a by a narrow 35-34 edge.

   All in all, the best was made of a bad situation. A little match-play experience will come in handy if you’re one of the eight teams still standing after four rounds of qualifying for match play in the NCAA Championship in three months at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. I suspect the weather in Southern California will be a little better then.

   South Carolina is always good, but never seems to have it going when the postseason arrives. Last spring was a little different, though, as the Gamecocks were a solid runnerup to host Georgia as the top seed in the NCAA’s Athens Regional and then earned a spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. before falling to Southern California in the quarterfinals.

   South Carolina’s victory over Wake Forest in Sunday’s semifinals featured a couple of heavyweight matchups at the top of the lineups.

   Hannah Darling, a junior for the Gamecocks from Scotland who is No. 18 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), edged the Demon Deacons’ Carolina Chacarra, a junior from Spain and No. 39 in the Women’s WAGR, 2 and 1.

   Darling has a ton of match-play experience. She has represented Great Britain & Ireland in each of the last two Curtis Cup Matches. Watched her a little when the Curtis Cup was played at Merion Golf Club’s iconic East Course two summers ago and found Darling to have maybe the most potential of any player on either team and that includes golf’s current it girl, American Rose Zhang.

   Darling has made a couple of deep runs in the R&A Women’s Amateur Championship each of the last two summers.

   Her South Carolina teammate Louise Rydqvist, a junior from Sweden and No. 36 in the Women’s WAGR, edged Wake Forest’s Rachel Kuehn, a graduate student from Asheville, N.C. and No. 11 in the Women’s WAGR, by the same 2 and 1 margin.

   Rydqvist reached the final of the R&A Women’s Amateur in 2022 at Hunstanton Golf Club before falling to UCF’s Jess Baker. Darling had been knocked out in the semifinals by Baker.

   Kuehn went 3-0 in match play at Grayhawk to help Wake Forest nail down the NCAA crown last spring. She has played on the last two U.S. Curtis Cup teams, wins for the Stars & Stripes at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire, Wales and on home soil at Merion, and announced her intention to try to make the team again this year when she accepted an invitation to participate in a practice session for candidates for the U.S. team last month at Seminole and Pine Tree in South Florida.

   South Carolina also got full points from Mia Sandtorv Lussand, a sophomore from Norway who cruised to a 5 and 4 decision over Brooke Rivers, a freshman from Turks & Caicos, and Sophia Bennett, a senior from Hilton Head Island, S.C. who claimed a 4 and 2 verdict over Mimi Rhodes, a senior from England.

   Wake Forest got its lone point from talented freshman Macy Pate, a home girl from Winston-Salem, N.C. who edged Vairana Heck, a freshman from France, 2 and 1.

   Darling, Rydqvist and Sandtorv Lussand are all holdovers from South Carolina’s lineup in the NCAA quarterfinals at Grayhawk last spring. The Gamecocks are coming off a solid fall campaign that included an impressive wire-to-wire victory in the Annika Intercollegiate at the Royal Golf Club in Elmo, Minn. in September.

   Darling will be back at Palos Verdes next month as there was a berth in next month’s Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship on the line for a member of the winning team in the Hession and Darling was awarded the berth and will tee it up in an LPGA event for the first time.

   Chacarra, Kuehn and Mimi Rhodes were in the lineup when Wake Forest claimed the national championship at Grayhawk and the Demon Deacons capped a three-win fall campaign by defeating powerful Stanford in the final of the East Lake Cup in Atlanta.

   Texas was another of the last eight teams still standing for match play in the NCAA Championship last spring, the Longhorns advancing out of the Palm Beach Regional as a two seed before falling to ancient rival Texas A&M in the quarterfinals at Grayhawk.

   Texas climbed out of a 2-0 hole against Florida in the semifinals at Palos Verdes as Farah O’Keefe, a freshman home girl from Austin, Texas and No. 29 in the Women’s WAGR, earned a 4 and 3 victory over Paula Francisco, a freshman from Spain, veteran senior Bentley Cotton, another home girl from Austin, edged Jackie Lucena, a fifth-year player from Chico, Calif., 1-up, and Bohyun Park, a junior from Farmers Branch, Texas, rolled to a 6 and 4 decision over Sophie Stevens, a freshman from Highland, Mich.

   Lauren Kim, a talented freshman from Canada and No. 28 in the Women’s WAGR, fell, 2 and 1, to the Gators’ Maisie Filler, a senior from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. and No. 34 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Filler, a veteran of the Florida team that failed to advance out the Raleigh Regional as a four seed last spring, was coming off a solid 4 and 3 victory over Scarlett Schremmer in the final of the Ione D. Jones/Doherty Amateur Championship, a stop on the unofficial Orange Blossom Tour last month at Cedar Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

   Florida’s other point against Texas came from Ines Archer, a freshman from France who cruised to a 5 and 4 victory over Angela Heo, a sophomore from Murrieta, Calif.

   Cotton, Park and Heo were all in the lineup for the Longhorns in their quarterfinal loss to Texas A&M at Grayhawk last spring.

   South Carolina reached the semifinals in the Hession with a 3-2 victory over Oregon, out of the Pac-12, in a quarterfinal match Saturday afternoon. Oregon had a bit of a disappointing finish to its season last spring when the Ducks failed to advance out of the Westfield Regional as a two seed a year after making a run to the Final Match in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk before falling to Stanford.

   Darling and Rydqvist again led the way with wins over a couple of tough customers at the top of lineup for the Ducks.

   Darling rolled to a 5 and 4 victory over talented freshman Kiara Romero from San Jose, Calif. and No. 48 in the Women’s WAGR. Romero captured the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship last summer, defeating Rianne Malixi in the final at the Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course in Colorado Springs, Colo.

   Rydqvist cruised to a 6 and 4 victory over Ashleigh Park, a senior from Irvine, Calif.

   South Carolina’s other point came from Heck, who edged Minori Nagano, a senior from Japan, 1-up.

   Oregon’s two points were registered by Ching-Tzu Chen, a graduate student from Taiwan who earned a 5 and 4 decision over Sandtorv Lussand, and Ting-Hsuan (Tiffany) Huang, a freshman from Taiwan who knocked off Bennett, 4 and 3.

   Texas earned its spot in the semifinals with a hard-fought 3-2 victory over reigning Pac-12 champion Southern California, which reached the Final Match in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring before falling to Wake Forest.

   For the Longhorns, Heo pulled out a 1-up decision over Bailey Shoemaker, the Trojans’ talented freshman from Dade City, Fla., O’Keefe claimed a 3 and 1 victory over Christine Wang, a senior from Houston, Texas, and Park pulled out a 2-up win over Amari Avery, a junior from Riverside, Calif. and No. 16 in the Women’s WAGR.

   Avery was really impressive as one of the many stars on the U.S. team that conquered GB&I to retain the Curtis Cup at Merion in the summer of 2022.

   Catherine Park, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif. and No. 32 in the Women’s WAGR, claimed a full point for Southern Cal with a 3 and 2 victory over Lauren Kim. Park was the runnerup to Stanford’s Zhang in the individual chase in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring.

   The Trojans’ other full point came from Frances Kim, a freshman from Palos Verdes playing close to home who edged Cotton, 2-up.

   Southern Cal reached Grayhawk last spring by finishing in third place as a three seed in the Pullman Regional. Catherine Park, Avery and Wang were in the lineup for the Trojans in their loss to Wake Forest in the Final Match.

   In the other two quarterfinals, Wake Forest got full points from Kuehn and Pate in a 3.5-1.5 victory over Mountain West Conference power San Jose State and Florida, behind wins from Filler, Archer and Stevens, claimed a 3-2 win over Pac-12 power UCLA in a match that had to be completed Sunday morning after darkness halted play Saturday afternoon.

   In consolation-round matches Saturday, reigning ACC champion Clemson earned a 3-2 victory over Georgetown, out of the Big East Conference, Big 12 power Baylor edged Pepperdine, out of the West Coast Conference, on a tiebreaker, tournament host Ohio State claimed a 3-2 win over Pac-12 power Arizona State and another Pac-12 power, Arizona, topped Mississippi State, out of the SEC, 3-2.

   Pepperdine earned a spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship last spring at Grayhawk with the Waves falling to Stanford in the quarterfinals.

   South Carolina opened its weekend Saturday morning with a 3-2 victory over Arizona as Darling and Rydqvist began what would be a 3-0 match-play sweep over two days with wins.

   Darling pulled out a 2-up victory over Gile Bite Starkute, a veteran fifth-year player from Lithuania for the Wildcats, and Rydqvist claimed a 4 and 3 victory over a tough customer in Julia Misemer, a sophomore from Overland Park, Kan. who has made it into the match-play bracket in each of the last two U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships.

   Heck picked up the other point for South Carolina with a 4 and 3 win over Lilas Pinthier, a junior from France.

   Arizona’s two points came from Nena Wongthanavimok, a sophomore from Thailand who edged Sandtorv Lussand, 1-up, and Charlotte Back, a freshman from Germany who claimed a 2 and 1 victory over Bennett.

   Arizona captured the team title in the Raleigh Regional as a five seed to advance to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring.

   Texas began its road to the semifinals with a 4-1 victory over Arizona State.

   Texas got points from Lauren Kim, who earned a 4 and 2 victory over Grace Summerhays, the Sun Devils’ talented junior from Scottsdale, Ariz., O’Keefe, who opened a 3-0 run of match wins over two days with a 2 and 1 victory over Beth Coulter, a talented sophomore from Ireland, Bohyun Park, who rolled to a 6 and 4 verdict over Calynne Rosholt, a junior from Cedar Park, Texas, and Cotton, who earned a 5 and 3 decision over Patience Rhodes, a redshirt freshman from England.

   Paula Schulz-Hanssen, a sophomore from Germany, accounted for the lone point for Arizona State with a 5 and 4 victory over Heo.

   Had to be a disappointing spring for the Sun Devils as they failed to advance out of the Raleigh Regional as the two seed because it would have been a home game with the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk just miles from the Arizona State campus.

   In the other opening-round matches, Wake Forest rolled to a 5-0 victory over Georgetown, San Jose State claimed a 3.5-1.5 decision over Clemson, UCLA captured a 4-1 win over Baylor, Florida cruised to a 4-1 verdict over Pepperdine, Southern Cal knocked off Ohio State, 3.5-1.5, and Oregon blanked Mississippi State, 5-0.

   In Sunday’s consolation matches, Oregon defeated San Jose State, 3-2, with Huang completing a 3-0 sweep of her three matches over two days, Southern Cal claimed a tiebreaker win over cross-town rival UCLA with Catherine Park’s match win giving her a 2-0-1 weekend for the Trojans, Arizona earned a 4-1 win over Clemson with the freshman Back completing a 3-0 sweep of her three matches for the Wildcats, Ohio State and Baylor and Georgetown and Mississippi State both saw their matches end in ties, and Arizona State dealt Pepperdine a 4-1 setback.

   Emily Hummer, a redshirt junior from Upper Arlington, Ohio traveled to Palos Verdes with Ohio State to compete as an individual. She dropped a 4 and 3 decision to UCLA’s Zoe Campos, a junior from Valencia, Calif. and No. 29 in the Women’s WAGR, in a Sunday match.

   Hummer was the runnerup in a competition among players competing as individuals in the Hession.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shipley surges to individual title, leads Ohio State to team crown in Southwestern Invitational

 

   You really have to give Neal Shipley, a graduate student at The Ohio State University, a lot of credit.

   A member of Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s 2018 PIAA Class AAA championship team, Shipley started his college career at James Madison and was a very good player in the Dukes’ final years in what was then known as the Colonial Athletic Association.

   I first learned that Shipley was headed for Columbus when he surged to a victory in the Pennsylvania Amateur at Llanerch Country Club in the summer of 2022.

   Llanerch, site of the 1958 PGA Championship, is one of the Philadelphia area’s most underrated great golf courses. You want to know how you can tell Llanerch is a great golf course? Good players win there and Shipley keeps proving that point. In the rich golf tradition of western Pennsylvania, Neal Shipley is making a name for himself.

   Shipley, No. 69 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), unleashed a closing kick with a 6-under-par 65 in Wednesday’s final round of the Southwestern Invitational to capture the individual title by a shot and lead the Buckeyes to a one-shot victory over UNLV in the team competition at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif.

   The Southwestern has become somewhat of the traditional opening salvo in the spring portion of the wraparound college golf season and it was really nice showing for a cold-weather Big Ten team to finish atop a 13-team field, including some West Coast teams that don’t experience the kind of weather limitations that players at a school like Ohio State do.

   Everybody in the Big Ten is playing for second place each spring as powerful Illinois has won 13 of the last 14 conference championships.

   After finishing in a tie for fifth place in a Big Ten Championship shortened to 36 holes by a weekend of dreadful weather last April at Galloway National Golf Club at the Jersey Shore, Ohio State was seeded fifth in the NCAA’s Auburn Regional.

   Behind the regional’s individual champion, Maxwell Maldovan, a senior from Uniontown, Ohio and No. 23 in the WAGR, the Buckeyes, advanced to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. by finishing in fourth place.

   There’s a cut following three rounds of team competition in the NCAA Championship to the low 15 teams and Shipley dragged the Buckeyes to that last day of team play. He was tied for the individual lead after three rounds and the Ohio State had to survive a playoff with Texas Tech to extend its season one more day, but the Buckeyes made it.

   They didn’t make the top eight that advance to match play, but top 15 is top 15. Shipley, probably a little worn out from all the extra effort, struggled to a final-round 79 at Grayhawk and finished in a tie for 29^th place in the individual standings.

   A couple of months later, there was Shipley with a gritty run to the final of the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club, the William Flynn gem in Colorado. In the round of 32, Shipley needed 20 holes to get past Callum Scott, a Texas Tech junior from Scotland who would represent Great Britain & Ireland in the Walker Cup Match at the Old Course at St. Andrews a couple of weeks later.

   Guess you’d have to say Shipley’s 4 and 3 loss in the scheduled 36-hole final at Cherry Hills to Alabama sophomore Nick Dunlap has been flattered these last couple of weeks with Dunlap winning The American Express on the PGA Tour as an amateur and promptly turning pro.

   In the Southwestern, Shipley ripped off six birdies in an eight-hole stretch from the ninth through the 16^th holes and finished with eight birdies overall in his final round to finish with a 12-under 201 total.

   Shipley had opened with a 2-under 69 over the 6,800-yard, par-71 North Ranch layout and added a 4-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round that left him in a tie for fifth place, four shots behind the leader Tucker Clark, a junior at Colorado from Paradise Valley, Ariz. who had posted a sizzling 8-under 63 in the second round.

   Shipley’s final-round surge, though, was good enough to earn him his first collegiate victory.

   Ohio State had opened with a 1-over 285 and, behind a sparkling 6-under 65 from Maldovan and Shipley’s 67, surged into first place with a sparkling 11-under 273 in Tuesday’s second round.

   A solid final round of 3-under 281 left the Buckeyes with a 13-under 839 total, one shot better than UNLV, a Mountain West Conference representative.

   The Runnin’ Rebels entered the final round in a tie for second place Colorado, in its final year as a member of the Pac-12, and the Big 12’s Texas Tech, each two shots behind Ohio State. This all may be a little hard to keep track of, but Colorado will join Texas Tech in the Big 12 in the fall.

   UNLV had opened with a 5-under 279 behind the low individual round of the tournament, a scintillating 9-under 62 by Caden Fioroni, a senior from San Diego, Calif. The Runnin’ Rebels added a 3-under 281 in Tuesday’s second round and a final round of 4-under 280 left them just a shot short of Ohio State with a 12-under 840 total.

   UCLA, another stalwart in the once-proud PAC-12, which will disintegrate, at least in its present form, this spring, and reigning Mountain West champion San Diego State, finished in a tie for third place, each landing on 9-under 843, three shots behind UNLV.

   The Bruins, playing close to home, were solid throughout adding a 3-under 281 in Tuesday’s second round to their opening round of 4-under 280 before closing with a 1-under 283.

   The Aztecs, who failed to advance to the NCAA Championship last spring as a four seed in the Salem Regional, bounced back from an opening round of 1-over 285 with a 7-under 277 in Tuesday’s second round before finishing up with a 3-under 281.

   Another Pac-12 entry, Washington, behind individual runnerup Taehoon Song, a senior from South Korea, finished alone in fifth place with an 8-under 844 total, a shot behind UCLA and San Diego State. After opening with a 2-over 286, the Huskies added a 4-under 280 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 6-under 278 that was the best team round of the final round.

   Song fueled that final-round surge as he signed for a sizzling 7-under 64 in the final round to finish just a shot behind Shipley in second place in the individual chase with an 11-under 202 total. Song opened with a 1-under 70 before adding a 3-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Texas Tech and Colorado, which began the final round in a tie for second place with UNLV, each closed with a 1-over 285 to finish in a tie for sixth place with a 7-under 845 total.

   Texas Tech, which advanced to the NCAA Championship with a fourth-place finish as the top seed in the Norman Regional last spring, had grabbed the team lead with an opening round of 7-under 277 before adding a 1-under 283 in Tuesday’s second round.

   After struggling to an opening round of 6-over 290, Colorado surged up the leaderboard with the best team round of the week, a sparkling 14-under 270, in Tuesday’s second round.

   Backing up Shipley for Ohio State was Jack Vojtko, a freshman from Stow, Ohio who made a spectacular collegiate debut by finishing among the group tied for 17^th place with a 2-under 211 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 71, Vojtko carded back-to-back 1-under 70s in the final two rounds.

   Looks like Ohio State head coach Jay Moseley has a keeper with Vojtko, the new kid in town.

   Moldovan, as evidenced by his lofty spot in the WAGR, gives Ohio State a formidable 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup along with Shipley. Moldovan survived a sectional qualifier and teed it up in the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club last summer and then survived the 36-hole cut and played the weekend.

   Moldovan contributed that 65 to Ohio State’s second-round surge after opening with a 1-over 72. He closed with a 4-over 75 to finish alone in 22^nd place with a 2-under 212 total.

   Adam Wallin, a senior from Sweden, matched par in the final round with a critical 71 for the Buckeyes as he finished among the group tied for 32^nd place with a 3-over 216 total. Wallin opened with a 3-over 74 before also matching par with a 71 in Tuesday’s second round.

   Rounding out the Ohio State lineup was Patrick Schmucking, a fifth-year player from Germany who finished in the group tied for 53^rd place with an 8-over 221 total. Schmucking had a pair of 2-over 73s in the first two rounds before finishing up with a 4-over 75.

   Jackson Chandler, a fifth-year player from Dublin, Ohio, competed as an individual for Ohio State in the Southwestern and had a solid showing, finishing in the group tied for 38^th place with a 4-over 217 total. After opening with a 1-over 72, Chandler added a 3-over 74 in Tuesday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 71.

   UNLV’s Fioroni and Texas Tech’s Tyran Snyders, a senior from South Africa and No. 59 in the WAGR, finished in a tie for third place in the individual standings, each landing on 10-under 203, a shot behind Washington’s Song.

   Fioroni, who represented UNLV as an individual in the Las Vegas Regional last spring, cooled off following his opening-round 62 with a 2-over 73 in Tuesday’s second round before closing with a 3-under 68.

   Snyders got off to a fast start with a 5-under 66 in the opening round, followed it up with a 3-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round and finished up with a solid 2-under 69.

   Houston’s Santiago De La Fuente, a senior from Mexico and No. 54 in the WAGR, finished a shot behind Fioroni and Snyders in fifth place with a 9-under 204 total. De La Fuente added a 3-under 68 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 67 before closing with a 2-under 69.

   De La Fuente captured the individual title and led the Cougars to the team crown in the American Athletic Conference last spring. Houston failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as a nine seed in the Auburn Regional.

   Colorado’s Clark and San Diego State’s Tyler Kowack, a sophomore homeboy from nearby Del Mar, finished in a tie for sixth place at 8-under 206, two shots behind De La Fuente.

   Clark’s blistering 63 in Tuesday’s second round came on the heels of an opening round of 2-under 69 as he held the individual lead going into the final round. Clark cooled off with a final round of 3-over 74.

   Kowack added a solid 4-under 67 in Tuesday’s second round to his opening-round 69 before closing with a 1-under 70.

   UCLA’s Omar Morales, a junior from Mexico, finished a shot behind Clark and Kowack in eighth place with a 6-under 207 total. Morales, who survived a sectional qualifier and teed it up in last summer’s U.S. Open at L.A. Country Club, added a 3-under 68 to his opening-round 70 before closing with a 2-under 69.

   Morales’ teammate, Luke Powell, a freshman from Laguna Niguel, Calif., and California’s Ethan Fang, a freshman from Plano, Texas, rounded out the top 10 in the individual standings as they finished in a tie for ninth place, each landing on 5-under 208.

   Powell got off to a fast start with a 4-under 67, added a 2-under 69 in Tuesday’s second round and finished up with a 1-over 72.

   Fang, part of a fairly loaded freshman class at Cal, closed with a solid 3-under 68 after registering back-to-back 1-under 70s in the first two rounds.