ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The 18th-ranked LSU women’s golf team made a big move on the final day to move up five spots to 15th place in the final standings of the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships that concluded Friday at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course.
The Lady Tigers put the cap on a 72-hole event filled with wind, rain, hail, record heat and bitter cold, not to mention several stoppages of play because of those reasons by shooting not only the best final round of the morning wave, but also one of the best rounds of the final day of the tournament.
LSU posted a two-under par total on the final nine holes to finish at seven-over par 295. The Lady Tigers four-day total of 1,222 (300-315-312-295) and its 15th place finish marks the seventh time in nine NCAA appearances that LSU has finished in the top 15. The Lady Tigers also improved eight spots from their last NCAA appearance in 2006 with three members of the 2008 team returning for their second appearance in the championship.
“I’m so very pleased,” said LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen, who has been a part of all nine NCAA Championship appearances at LSU as either player or coach. “These girls fought through some of the most difficult conditions and didn’t give in. We wanted to dedicate the final round to our two seniors here and shoot under 300.”
That they did and the seniors, Alexis Rather and Rebecca Kuhn, also did their part to help the scoring.
Rather suffered through a triple and a double bogey at the worst points in the weather during the round but came back with four birdies to post a three-over 75, while Kuhn found herself five over after the first six holes and came back with three birdies and all pars the rest of the way to shoot a two-over 74.
As had been an LSU tradition at NCAA Championships, Coach Bahnsen and the team met the two seniors as they came off the 18th green with a bouquet for roses for each of them.
“I feel great about (today),” said Rather. “I’ve been here five years and it still doesn’t seem like it’s the time for the last round.”
“It has gone by so fast,” said Kuhn of her time at LSU. “It was really fun. Once I got five over after the first six holes, I just told myself to relax, go enjoy the moment and I really didn’t think about the score.”
The Tigers also got a boost from freshman Megan McChrystal, who showed the form that had her leading the team in stroke average as McChrystal poured in four birdies over the final 10 holes including a long one on the par-5 18th to finish with a two-under 70.
“I only missed one green,” said McChrystal, who finished with LSU’s co-best 72-hole total of 304 (16-over), moving up 34 places to a tie for 55th. “This tournament has been such a big learning experience for me and it is a great experience to take with me for next year.”
LSU also counted a four-over 76 from LSU’s other freshman, Amalie Valle, who also finished at 16-over 304.
“We always played the front nine in the worst of the weather,” said Bahnsen in looking back at the week. “I would like to have played the first three holes in normal conditions.”
In Wednesday’s aborted start, LSU was nine-over on the first three holes. Friday in similar strong winds, LSU was five over.
“We started the day in 20th place and we just put together a solid round,” Bahnsen said. “We’ve had such good leadership from our seniors. We really came together as a team right before that playoff in the regionals. That was all Alexis and Rebecca. They got the team together to prepare for that one hole that got us here. The future looks bright for us with our recruits coming in and the players returning. But it’s getting tougher and tougher to get to this tournament. Seven teams from our conference made it here this year. But I am so proud of what this team has been through this week and what they have done.”
Southern Cal finally shook off UCLA to win the competition with a four-day total of 16-over par, 1,168, six shots ahead of the Bruins. Three-time defending champion Duke posted an under par round on the final day but finished third. The individual medalist was Arzhara Munoz of Arizona State who won a playoff with a birdie on the first hole of sudden death over Tiffany Joe of UCLA, who tied after 72 holes at 287 (one under par).
NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships
Albuquerque, N.M.
Final Team Results (Par 288-1152)
1. Southern California 284-300-295-289 ? 1168 +16; 2. UCLA 289-295-298-292 ? 1174 +22; 3. Duke 299-300-300-281 ? 1180 +28; 4. Purdue 298-304-303-283 ? 1188 +36; 5. Arizona State 290-301-301-297 ? 1189 +37; 6. Denver 293-294-308-296 ? 1191 +39; 6. Texas A&M 295-299-299-298 ? 1191 +39; 8. Arkansas 2989-297-302-297 ? 1194 +42; 9. Florida 301-299-297-299 ? 1196 +44; 10. Wake Forest 293-306-306-292 ? 1197 +45; 11. Georgia 297-303-303-295 ? 1198 +46; 12. Auburn 289-315-309-302 ? 1215 +63; 12. Virginia 296-317-301-301 ? 1215 +63; 12. Alabama 296-311-306-302 ? 1215 +63; 15. LSU 300-315-312-295 ? 1222 +70; 16. UNLV 314-297-304-308 ? 1223 +71; 17. TCU 298-310-312-307 ? 1227 +75; 17. Texas 298-310-309-301 ? 1227 +75; 19. Oklahoma State 294-312-307-315 ? 1228 +76; 19. Tulsa 297-317-310-304 ? 1228 +76; 21. UC Davis 298-319-315-302 ? 1234 +82; 22. South Carolina 306-316-310-303 ? 1235, +83; 23. Arizona 307-309-314-310 ? 1240 +88; 24. Furman 312-313-315-313 ? 1253 +101.
Individual Top 10 (Par 72-288) (Munoz wins title with birdie on first playoff hole.)
1. Tiffany Joh, UCLA, 74-69-72-72 ? 287 -1; 1. Azahara Munoz, Arizona State, 69-72-73-73 ? 287 -1; 3. Garrett Phillips, Georgia, 71-74-71-73 ? 289 +1; 4. Belen Mozo, Southern California, 69-71-75-75 ? 290 +2; 5. Amanda Blumenherst, Duke, 75-71-77-68 ? 291 +3; 5. Anna Nordquist, Arizona State, 75-73-72-71 ? 291 +3; 5. Stephanie Sherlock, Denver, 71-73-77-70 ? 291 +3; 8. Ashley Freeman, Texas A&M, 71-72-74-75 ? 292 +4; 8. Stacy Lewis, Arkansas, 73-72-75-72 ? 292 +4; 8. Sydnee Michaels, UCLA, 69-74-75-74 ? 292 +4; 8. Dewi Claire Schreefel, Southern California, 73-78-72-69 ? 292 +4.
LSU Scores
T55. Megan McChrystal 73-78-73-70 ? 304 +16
T55. Amalie Valle 74-79-75-76 ? 304 +16
T63. Rebecca Kuhn 76-75-80-74 ? 305 +17
T93. Alexis Rather 77-83-79-75 ? 314 +26
T118. Caroline Martens 81-85-78-80 ? 324 +36