Wake Forest claims NCAA women's golf championship at Grayhawk Golf Club
The 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Golf National Championship was held from May 19-24 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.
Wake Forest won its first NCAA championship in women's golf, turning back upset-minded USC 3-1 in the match play championship Wednesday afternoon at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.
For Wake Forest, it is the school’s 10th overall national title and the first since the men’s tennis team claimed the team title in 2018. It marks the ninth Atlantic Coast Conference title in women’s golf, with Wake Forest’s victory avenging their defeat in the 2019 national championship match against Duke.
“They worked incredibly hard, they are always working on the small things, the big things.” said Wake Forest head coach Kim Lewellen, “It was unbelievable to watch toward the end how they kept their grit, their foot on the petal and they got it done.”
The Trojans were seeking their fourth title but first with the current format. They came in with momentum, having upset No. 1 and defending champion Stanford 3-1 in semifinal play on Tuesday.
But the Demon Deacons, ranked No. 2 nationally, had the upper hand all afternoon. They won three of the four matches completed and led by two holes in the match that was still out on the course when the title was secured.
Wake Forest was able to get off to a fast start, winning the first hole in three of five matches to begin the day with the momentum that would stay with the team for the rest of the afternoon.
The No. 4 ranked amateur Rachel Kuehn was poised the entire day from the opening tee. Through six holes the match remained tied, but Kuehn closed out the front nine by winning three straight holes to go 3 UP heading into the back-9. Ultimately, Kuehn notched birdies on holes 11, 13 and 14 to defeat Avery to win 6-and-4 to give the Demon Deacons their first point. The senior went undefeated in all three match play matches this week.
Graduate Emilia Migliaccio got off to an early lead, going two up in her first three holes which included a birdie, she never trailed in her match which included going birdie-birdie on holes 14 and 15 to go 4-UP and after a par on the 16th hole, she secured the second point winning 4 and 2 over Cindy Kou.
Southern California freshman Catherine Park never trailed in her match against Carolina Lopez-Chacarra. After four holes of being tied, Park buried a birdie on the fifth hole to take a 1-UP lead. She never looked back, limiting mistakes and winning her match 3-and-1 to score the first point for the Trojans.
After winning her first hole, senior Lauren Walsh took control of her match over Southern California’s Brianna Navarrosa, being up as much as 5-UP through seven holes. Despite a late charge by Navarrosa, cutting the match to 3-UP, the deficit was too much with Walsh calmly clinching the match on the 16th hole with a two-putt par to bring home the program's first national title.
Junior Mimi Rhodes was leading in her match 2-UP on the 17th hole against USC’s Christine Wang, but was a back-and-fourth affair on the front-9, with Wang taking a 2-UP lead after eight holes. Rhodes was able to win five of the next seven holes, but the match was called with Walsh claiming the title for the team.
USC, Wake Forest to battle for championship
It will be USC and Wake Forest battling for top honors in the NCAA Championship Women's Golf Match play final at Scottsdale's Grayhawk Golf Club.
Those teams posted quarterfinal and semifinal victories to earn a berth in the final showdown set to tee off at 1:35 p.m., on Wednesday.
It was USC pulling the upset, turning back current No. 1 and defending national champion Stanford 3-1 in the semifinal. The Trojans never trailed in two of the three matches they won, and none of the three went to the 18th hole.
That came after a 3-1 win over South Carolina earlier in the quarterfinal.
USC has won three national championships in the program’s history, but the Trojans will be making their first appearance in the finals since match play began in 2015. They had last qualified for match play at the 2019 tournament.
Meanwhile, Wake Forest turned back Florida State 3-1 and Texas A&M 3-0.
Wake Forest, which came into the event ranked No. 2 in the country, will make its first appearance in the national championship match since 2019 at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. That was also the last season the Demon Deacons qualified for match play at the event. Wake Forest will be seeking its first-ever national championship.
Quarterfinals
Match #1 - #7 Texas A&M def. #2 Texas, 3-1
Match #2 - #3 Wake Forest def. #6 Florida State, 3-1
Match #3 - #1 Stanford def. #8 Pepperdine, 3-1
Match #4 - #5 Southern California def. #4 South Carolina, 3-1
Semifinals
#3 Wake Forest def. #7 Texas A&M, 3-0
#5 Southern California def. #1 Stanford, 3-1
Match play begins: Field, pairings set for 2023 women's quarterfinals
Arizona stumbles in fourth round of stroke play
The Arizona women's golf team started Monday's fourth round of stroke play at the NCAA championships in position to qualify for match play, but the Wildcats could not stay there and will not be part of the final eight left contending for a title at Scottsdale's Grayhawk Golf Club.
Arizona, which came into the event ranked No. 23 nationally, shot a 6-over 294 for the day which put it at 11-over 1163 for the tournament which tied them for ninth with New Mexico, three strokes behind the final match play qualifier Pepperdine.
The best overall finish came from Pimmada Wongthanavimok, who placed seventh with a 6-under 282. That included a final round of 1-under 71. Also representing the Wildcats were Carolina Melgrati (8-over 296), Gile Bite Starkute (9-over 297), Lilas Pinthier (11-over 299) and Julia Misemer (15-over 303).
The individual winner was sophomore Rose Zhang of Stanford who started the day in third place but shot a 4-under 68 on the day and finished at 10-under 278 to edge out Lucia Lopez-Ortega of San Jose State and Catherine Park of USC, both of whom were at 279. Park had started the day in first place but settled for a 1-over 73.
With the victory, Zhang becomes the first woman to win back-to-back NCAA individual titles.
Stanford earns the top seed and will face No. 8 Pepperdine in match play quarterfinal action Tuesday. The other quarterfinals pit Texas and Texas A&M, Wake Forest and Florida State and South Carolina and USC. The semifinals will follow later in the afternoon with the championship match on Wednesday.
Stanford takes lead after third round
No.1 and defending champion Stanford surged into first place after 54 holes at the NCAA Women's Golf Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.
Wake Forest led after each of the first two rounds but ballooned to an 11-over 299 which puts it at 6-undeer 858 for the tournament. Meanwhile Stanford tallied a2-over 290 for an 851 that is good enough for a seven stroke lead.
Texas (858), USC (862) and Florida State 863) round out the top five. It was a particularly tough day on the course as no team shot par or better. The best scores of the day were 1-over by both Florida State and Arizona.
The field is cut to 15 after today's round, with the final 18-hole round of stroke play coming up on Monday.
Catherine Park of USC has a four-stroke lead when it comes to the individual leaderboard. She carded a 1-over 71 and is at 10-under 206 for the tournament. There is a tie for second place with a 6-under by Ingrid Lindblad of LSU, Rose Zhang of Stanford and Madison Hinson-Tolchard of Oklahoma State.
Arizona women jump six places
The University of Arizona shot a 1-over 89 and moved from 13th to a tie for seventh, safely making the 15-team cut and putting itself in good shape to make the next cut to eight for match play.
The best score for Arizona came from Pimmada Wongthanavimok who shot a 3-under 69 which puts her at 5-under 211 for the tournament. That puts her fifth individually.
Others representing the Wildcats are Carolina Melgrati (1-under 215), Gile Bite Starkute (7-over 223), Julia Misemer (9-over 225) and Lilas Pinthier (11-over 227).
Wake Forest, Stanford leads NCAA women's golf field after 36 holes
It looks like the stroke play portion of the NCAA Women' Golf Championships will be a three-team race.
After the second 18 holes, Wake Forest remains first with a 36-hole total of 17-under 559. The Demon Deacons followed up their opening round of 9-under with an 8-under 280. Defending champion Stanford looked rather pedestrian after an even-par 288 in the opening round but shot 15-under today and is lurking just two strokes behind Wake Forest at 561.
South Carolina is third at 14-under 562. There is a six stroke drop off after that to Texas which was 12-under the day and is at 8-under for the tournament. Oklahoma State and Texas A&M are tied for fifth at 5-under 571.
Lauren Walsh of Wake Forest remains the individual leader, shooting a 5-under 67 on each day to put her at 10-under 134 for the tournament. That is one stroke better than Catherine Park of USC, whose 9-under 64 was the best round of the tournament thus far.
Stanford's Rose Zhang made a significant jump, moving up 30 spots after a 5-under 67 put her at 5-under 139 for the event. Zhang, the No. 1 player in the field, is now tied for sixth, five shots behind the leader.
The field will be trimmed from 30 to 15 teams after the third round on Sunday.
Arizona Wildcats on the bubble
The Arizona Wildcats shot an even par 288, giving them a total of 4-over 580 that has them in 13th place, exactly where they were to start the day. They need to finish in the top 15 to advance to the fourth round Monday. Thee field will then be trimmed to eight after that round.
Teams right behind Arizona looking to advance are LSU (582), Duke (584), San Jose State (585), SMU (586) and Clemson (586).
“I’m really proud of the Wildcats and how we fought hard the entire day," Arizona coach Laura Ianello said. ". It was very much a roller coaster day where we started the day high on the roller coaster and then made a few dips and then fought our way back through the loops. Our team did an amazing job finishing this round out to get into a morning tee time tomorrow.
The top player for Arizona thus far is Pimmada Wongthanavimok who shot 1-over 73 and is at 2-under 142 for the tournament which places her tied for 24th in the 154-player field.
Also competing for the Wildcats are Carolina Melgrati (even par 144), Lilas Pinthier (5-over 149), Gile Bite Starkute (5-over 149) and Julia Misemer (6-over 150).
The Wildcats made the match play portion of the event when they last qualified in 2021.
“We aren’t even talking to our team about being inside the Top 15. What we are doing is keeping our eye on the top eight number because the top eight have a chance for the finals and match play, where anyone has a chance to win.
“Right now we are about seven shots behind eighth place, and with two rounds of golf left, I think that is key," Ianello said. "More than anything, we are trying to get them to focus on doing anything they can to inch closer to the top eight. Today we shot even par, and it was a struggle, but it moved us up the leaderboard because the conditions this afternoon got a lot more difficult. So I want these ladies only focused on getting into match play.”
Wake Forest leads 30-team field after first 18 holes
Wake Forest has taken the lead after the first round of the NCAA Women's Golf Championships at the par 72, 6,38-yard Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale. Wake Forest, which came in the No. 2 ranked team in the country, finished with a 9-under 279, which is one stroke better than Oklahoma State.
With all five golfers earning All-Atlantic Coast Conference recognition the past season, Wake Forest loomed as one of the teams to beat. All five players shot par or better.
“We are very pleased with how the team played today,” Wake Forest Head Coach Kim Lewellen said. “All their practice and preparation this season has been for this event. It is definitely a marathon, not a sprint, but we are hoping to carry this momentum through the rest of the week.”
There is a bit of a break after the top two teams with Georgia and South Carolina both a 2-under 286. New Mexico and Texas A&M are tied for fifth at 1-under 287.
No. 1-ranked Stanford, the Pac 12 champion and defending national champion, is tied for seventh at even par 288.
The field will be cut to 15 teams after the third round on Sunday. The there is another cut to eight teams after fourth round and those teams will compete in a match play portion.
The University of Arizona was one of the first teams to tee off and the Wildcats are at 4-over 292 which has them tied for 13th.
The best score of the day came from Oklahoma State junior Maddison Hinson-Tolchard who shot a 6-under 66 that included seven birdies, including three straight on the last three holes. Lauren Walsh of Wake Forest and Lucia Lopez-Ortega of San Jose State are both at 5-under 67.
“I thought the course was pretty receptive,” Hinson-Tolchard said. “Lots of great opportunities for birdie, which was really good. Sank a couple of really good putts and just was really solid with my short irons, so I think that helped a lot.”
Arizona finishes first round with 4-over 292
The Arizona Wildcats were one of the teams teeing off early and they finished the first round at 4-over 292.
The best score of the day was posted by Pimmada Wongthanavimok who carded a 3-under 69, highlighted by four birdies over the back nine.
The other competitors included Gile Bite Starkute (1-over 73), Carolina Melgrati (1-over 73), Julia Misemer (5-over 77) and Lilas Pinthier (6-over 78). Starkute is the lone holdover from the Arizona team that competed in the event two years ago, advancing to match play and falling in the semifinal to eventual champion Mississippi.
The Wildcats sit 11th in the field with many teams still on the course. The last teams will tee off at 1:20 pm. The best score of the day so far has been posted by Oklahoma State which finished with an 8-under 280, led by Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, who is the current individual leader with a 6-under 66.
The field will be trimmed from 30 to 15 teams after Sunday's third round.
Pinnacle grad leads Tulsa
The Tulsa women's golf team is being led by a local product in Sydney Seigel, a graduate of Pinnacle High School.
Seigel posted a 1-over 73 in first round play today. That was the best score for her team which finished with a 13-over 301. Seigel had a consistent round of 15 pars, two bogeys and one birdie. Her birdie came on the 474-yard par 4 No. 7 hole.
She is tied for 51st in the 154-player field.
More: Arizona women's golf team among those in the hunt for NCAA championship
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: NCAA Women's Golf National Championship 2023 score updates, analysis
