SAN ANTONIO – The LSU Lady Tigers held off the charge of three Southeastern Conference schools in the final round, setting a school record in the process, to capture The Alamo Invitational Tuesday at the Briggs Ranch Course.
LSU won its first tournament since the 2012 NCAA Regional by seven shots over Arkansas and nine shots over Auburn with Texas A&M back in fourth place.
LSU, second in the same event a year ago with a score of 16-under par, won with a total of 23-under par 841. It was the lowest 54-hole aggregate total in the history of the LSU women’s program, topping the 843 the team shot in the 2010 Mason Rudolph Classic in Franklin, Tenn. LSU posted rounds of 279-284-278 to win with the 278 Tuesday just one shot off the lowest single round in school history, 277 posted in 2011 at the Cougar Classic.
Ironically, it was Arkansas that would take second place with the same score (16-under 848) that LSU had last year in getting the runnerup trophy. Arkansas pressed the pace and was on the same 10-under pace that LSU was on for the longest time until falling back at the end to 7-under 281. Auburn’s 295 second round stopped their chances as they shot 280 on Tuesday to finish at 850 and 14-under par.
Texas A&M had the second best round of the day, 13-under 275, to get to 852, 12-under.
After moving to the lead on Monday with one of the few sub-par rounds on day two, LSU Coach Karen Bahnsen knew her 37th title as LSU’s golf coach was far from decided.
“I knew the teams behind us were dangerous and were good putters. They can play,” she said after Tuesday’s round. “But we just continued playing the golf course and not playing the competition. We as a team went out and played our game.”
Caroline Nistrup shot the exact some score that then LSU senior Lindsay Gahm posted to win last year’s event, 11-under par, but the sophomore just missed cashing in for her first tournament title. She shot rounds of 66-70-69 for 11-under 205, equaling the second lowest 54 hole total in LSU women’s golf history.
Nistrup had four birdies and a bogey through the first seven holes, but recorded pars all the way in to get her 11-under. Nistrup for the tournament played the par 5s in 7-under, the par 3s in 3-under and the par 4s in 1-under. She posted 16 total birdies
Sophia Schubert of Auburn came from behind with a final round of 7-under 65 to finish at 12-under 204 to capture the individual title by one shot over Nistrup. The LSU player was two shots clear of Gaby Lopez of Arkansas at 207 (9-under).
LSU junior Elise Bradley and Lady Tiger senior Madelene Sagstrom were also, like Nistrup, in red numbers every round and finished in a group tied for fourth at 6-under 210. Bradley had rounds of 71-69-70 and Sagstrom posted rounds of 69-71-70 with every round helping the Lady Tigers to the team victory.
Bradley had 16 pars in the round, the most of any golfer on the course for the day, while Sagstrom tied for third in the round with 6 birdies. For the tournament, Bradley had a field best 42 pars.
Adding her contribution to the final round was junior Nadine Dreher, who had struggled in the first two rounds of the event. She played the back nine in 3-under par and posted a counting 69 that allowed LSU count four under par scores in the final round.
All in all, it leaves a very good feeling for the Lady Tigers as they conclude the fall.
“The teams (behind us)started pushing us a bit (Tuesday), but the girls weren’t paying attention to that. They were just going about their business. I was so happy for Nadine (Dreher) and the way she finished,” said Bahnsen. “This group really has felt comfortable on this course. We have been hitting the ball good all semester, but we just couldn’t get some pulls to fall. But the girls kept believing and didn’t get frustrated and that’s a big key. Everyone has been contributing. Elise (Bradley) has been a rock this whole semester. Caroline (Nistrup) is so close to breaking through and getting that win. She handled it beautifully. It was a great three days.”
Competition for the Lady Tigers is set to resume Feb. 15 at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic.
The Alamo Invitational
San Antonio, Texas
Final Team Results (Par 288-864)
1. LSU 279-284-278 – 841 -23; 2. Arkansas 275-292-281 – 848 -16; 3. Auburn 275-295-280 – 850 -14; 4. Texas A&M 283-294-285 – 852 -12; 5. Florida State 286-289-283 – 858 -6; 6. Baylor 289-297-274 – 860 -4; 7. Tulane 292-287-293 – 872 +8; 8. SMU 296-294-283 – 873 +9; 9. Oklahoma 291-293-293 – 877 +13; 9. Houston 296-301-280 – 877 +13; 11. TCU 296-299-287 – 882 +18; 11. Texas 295-310-277 – 882 +18; 11. Texas Tech 293-297-292 – 882 +18; 14. Texas State 289-305-291 – 885 +21; 15. UTSA 294-307-293 – 894 +30.
Top 5 Individuals (Par 72-216)
1. Sophia Schubert, Auburn, 65-74-65 – 204 -12; 2. Caroline Nistrup, LSU, 66-70-69 – 205 -11; 3. Gaby Lopez, Arkansas, 68-71-68 – 207 -9; 4. Elise Bradley, LSU, 71-69-70 – 210 -6; 4. Marijosse Navarro, Texas A&M 69-72-69 – 210 -6; Maddie Szeryk, Texas A&M, 67-75-68 – 210 -6; 4. Madelene Sagstrom, LSU 69-71-70 – 210 -6.
LSU Scores
2. Caroline Nistrup 66-70-69 – 205 -11
T4. Madelene Sagstrom 69-71-70 – 210 -6
T4. Elise Bradley 71-69-70 – 210 -6
T64. Carly Ray Goldstein 73-74-81 – 228 +12
T74. Nadine Dreher 86-81-69 – 236 +20