South Carolina women’s golf team sets sights on national championship round

“Survive and advance” becomes the mantra in tournament competition, and the South Carolina’s women’s golf team provided the ideal illustration in the NCAA Regional in Auburn, Alabama.

The Gamecocks, ranked second nationally and seeded No. 1 in the Auburn competition, struggled in Tuesday’s second round and came from behind to earn a spot in the NCAA Championship tournament by one stroke over 54 holes.

Meanwhile, Clemson secured a spot in the nationals with plenty of room to spare in sharing second in the regional in Bryan, Texas.

“I’m very proud of our team’s resiliency down the stretch today,” Carolina coach Kalen Anderson said. “We faced some challenges this week and found a way to survive and advance like great teams do.”

The Gamecocks looked like a great team much of the season, winning four tournaments against perhaps the nation’s toughest schedule. But a 17-over-par team score in Tuesday’s second round put Carolina on shaky ground in the regional.

With the top five teams in each regional advancing to the national championship, USC fell into seventh place midway through Wednesday’s final round and needed a strong stretch run to advance.

“Each of our six players stepped up when called upon,” Anderson said.

Junior All-American Louise Rydqvist posted birdies on both 14 and 15 to fuel the stretch run, and her par on the final hole clinched USC’s fourth-straight trip to the nationals.

Inserted into the lineup after the first round, senior Sophia Burnett sparkled over the final 36 holes and provided a crucial birdie Wednesday on the 16th hole. Freshman Maylis Lamoure fired an even-par 72 in the final round that also included a birdie on 16.

Freshman Vairana Heck posted a final 76 for USC’s fourth counting score. The Gamecocks prevailed on a day that All-American Hannah Darling’s score, 5-over-par 77, did not count.

Rydqvist’s 71 paced the Gamecocks, and she finished second individually for her third-straight top 10 in a regional and her team-leading fifth top five of the season.

“We’re looking forward to continuing our quest for the national championship,” Anderson said in turning her attention toward the NCAA Championships that begin May 17 in Carlsbad, California.

Auburn, playing on its home course, won the regional’s team title with Oregon second, North Carolina third and the Gamecocks and Tulsa sharing fourth.

The Gamecocks, who tied for fifth in the nation a year ago, will be joined in California by a Clemson team making its second-straight trip to the national championship tournament.

Seeded third in its regional, Clemson played steady golf and tied for second with Southern Methodist, four strokes behind LSU.

The Tigers started Wednesday’s final round in second place and rallied to take the lead before LSU pulled away.

Annabelle Pancake, who fired a 2-under 70 Wednesday, finished second individually to pace Clemson. Melena Barrientos posted the Tigers’ best final round, 3-under-par 69.

Chloe Holder, Isabella Rawl and Sydney Roberts all posted 5-over-par 221s for the tournament and shared 24th in the individual competition. On Wednesday, Roberts shot 74, Rawl 75 and Holder 77.

In the national finals, all 30 teams will play 54 holes before the cut to the low 15. The survivors will play 18 holes with the top eight advancing to match-play that determines the team champion.

Chip shots. USC, Clemson and College of Charleston open play in NCAA men’s golf regionals on Monday. Both the Gamecocks and Tigers are seeded 10th, Carolina in the Baton Rouge Regional and Clemson in the Chapel Hill Regional. Charleston earned the ninth seed in West Lafayette, Louisiana. The top five teams in the six regionals advance to the national championship May 24-29. ... Columbia pro Shane Rogan and Clemson golfer Jonathan Nielsen advanced to sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open in local qualifying at Columbia CC. Ryan Cole (Mount Airy, Maryland), Blair Bursey (Gander, Newfoundland) and Parker Gillam (Sea Island, Georgia) also earned berths in the sectionals. ... Registration for the 2025 Drive, Chip and Putt program has opened. Girls and boys ages 7-15 are eligible for the competition that features the finals at Augusta National Golf Club next April.