College golf’s championship season is that much closer to crowning a national champ.
The six regional championship sites that featured 12 teams and six individuals (72 teams and 36 individuals, total) concluded play Wednesday, and there were plenty of stellar performances and even some upsets. The top five teams (30 total) and the top individual (six total) not on a qualifying team from each regional advanced to the national championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, May 19-24.
Below you’ll find a recap, as well as a breakdown of what to watch for from each regional as the final round concludes from all six sites.
Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Women’s team | Women’s individual
NCAA Championship: Meet the 30 teams and six individuals who qualified
Athens regional
Winning team: Georgia
Advancing teams: 1. Georgia; 2. South Carolina; 3. San Jose State; 4. Ole Miss; 5. Augusta
Individual winner: Jenny Bae, Georgia
Advancing individual: Leon Takagi, Kent State
Star performance: Jenny Bae and the Bulldogs were cooking at home. Bae, who finished runner-up at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, won the regional title by six shots and helped Georgia win its home regional by two strokes over South Carolina. Bae shot 13-under 203 for her second win this year and eighth top-five finish. And remember College of Charleston’s Viktoria Hund? She had her second ace is as many days Wednesday.
Keep an eye on: Augusta. Who doesn’t like a Cinderella? The 11th-seeded Augusta women’s golf team is heading to Grayhawk and the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history. With Mirabel Ting as its star player, Augusta held its own in a tough regional and earned a position in the finals.
For the 12th time in 16 seasons under head coach Kalen Anderson, we are headed to the National Championship. 😏
See y’all at Grayhawk! 🏜️🤙#Gamecocks🐔⛳️ // #NCAAGolf pic.twitter.com/c3gKeXTHS8
— Gamecock Women's Golf (@GamecockWGolf) May 10, 2023
Palm Beach regional
Winning team: Michigan State
Advancing teams: 1. Michigan State; 2. Duke; T-3. Texas, Northwestern; 5. LSU
Individual winner: Latanna Stone, LSU; Brooke Biermann, Michigan State
Advancing individual: Sara Byrne, Miami
Star performance: LSU. The top-seeded team was below the cut line for most of the final round, but the Tigers had a birdie fest on the back nine with stars Latanna Stone and Ingrid Lindblad leading the way for LSU to find its way into the fifth spot, one shot in front of Arkansas. The Razorbacks had a putt to tie LSU and force a playoff for the final spot, but it lipped out.
Keep an eye on: Duke. The Blue Devils have plenty of experience at NCAAs under Dan Brooks, and Duke seems to be finding its stride as the season goes on. Freshman Andie Smith finished fourth at regionals, and Phoebe Brinker added a T-9 finish. Duke is a team that always seems to find a way to be successful when it matters most, and it looks strong heading to Scottsdale.
Not done yet. See you in Arizona. 🌵🏌️♀️⛳️#GoGreen pic.twitter.com/22m46111ii
— Spartan Women's Golf (@MSU_WGolf) May 10, 2023
Pullman regional
Winning team: Stanford
Advancing teams: 1. Stanford; 2. Clemson; 3. USC; 4. Baylor; 5. Texas Tech
Individual winner: Rose Zhang, Stanford
Advancing individual: Tiffany Le, UC-Riverside
Star performance: It has to go to Tiffany Le. Playing as an individual, Le finished birdie-eagle and was 4 under in her final four holes beat Washington’s Camille Boyd by one shot and advance to the NCAA Championships. Additionally, Rose Zhang won her 11th collegiate title and seventh this season, shooting 19 under.
Keep an eye on: The Clemson Tigers, which have been on a roll come postseason time. Clemson won the ACC title, beating Duke and then Virginia in the match-play final, to capture the conference crown. Then the Tigers continued their strong play in regionals, placing second to only the defending national champions. Clemson is one of the hottest teams in the country heading to Grayhawk.
In just her 19th career event, Rose Zhang has tied @TigerWoods (26 events), @PRodgersGolf (35 events) and Maverick McNealy (45 events) with her school-record 11th victory!!!!!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/ALcHaNNt0g
— Stanford Women's Golf (@StanfordWGolf) May 10, 2023
Raleigh regional
Winning team: Arizona
Advancing teams: 1. Arizona; 2. N.C. State; 3. Wake Forest; 4. TCU; 5. Florida State
Individual winner: Dorota Zalewska, Chattanooga
Advancing individual: Dorota Zalewska, Chattanooga
Star performance: Arizona shot 7 under in the in the final round to move three spots up the leaderboard and knock off host N.C. State to win the regional. It was a strong performance for the Wildcats, with Julia Misemer finishing T-2 at 8 under.
Keep an eye on: Florida State. The Seminoles have been one of the top teams all season long, and they played strong enough down the stretch to move into the fifth spot. Charlotte Heath, Lottie Woad and Amelia Williamson are a formidable trio, and Florida State could make a run to get into match play.
How about our PACK?!
Nationals bound 🐺🐺 pic.twitter.com/pG8uAaL5S4
— PackWGolf⛳️ (@PackWGolf) May 10, 2023
San Antonio regional
Winning teams: Pepperdine, SMU
Advancing teams: T-1. Pepperdine, SMU; T-3. Oklahoma State, Texas A&M; 5. New Mexico
Individual winner: Camryn Carreon, Texas San Antonio
Advancing individual: Camryn Carreon, Texas San Antonio
Star performance: New Mexico. The seventh-seeded Lobos came into the final round two spots outside the cutline, but a 1-over performance, the third best of the final round, was strong enough to vault past Denver and second-seeded Auburn for the final spot.
Keep an eye on: Oklahoma State. The Big 12 champions tied for third with SEC champion Texas A&M. And the Cowgirls are no strangers at Grayhawk, finishing runner-up to Ole Miss in the 2021 NCAA Championships. Oklahoma State has gotten big contributions from different golfers throughout its lineup this spring, and that could be pivotal to make another deep run.
WAVES WIN!
Pepperdine won the NCAA San Antonio Regional after firing off a 6-under final round today, tying SMU for first (+9)!
The Waves tied their all-time best regional finish (last T-1 in 2002) and will advance to the NCAA finals for the 13th time in program history! pic.twitter.com/A80z49fLCX
— Pepperdine Women's Golf (@WavesGolf) May 10, 2023
Westfield regional
Winning team: Mississippi State
Advancing teams: 1. Mississippi State; 2. Oregon State; 3. Vanderbilt; 4. Virginia; 5. Tulsa
Individual winner: Amanda Sambach, Virginia; Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mississippi State
Advancing individual: Isabella McCauley, Minnesota
Star performance: Props to ninth-seeded Oregon State, which finished second and only two shots behind winner Mississippi State to earn its first NCAA Championship berth in 25 years. Madde Sund and Chayse Gomez tied for seventh to lead the Beavers. However, in-state foe Oregon, the second seed in the regional and defending national runner-up, finished 10th and is heading home.
Keep an eye on: Amanda Sambach. The sophomore at Virginia won her first event this year at the Annika Intercollegiate and then battled throughout the year, earning win No. 2 at the ACC Championships. She tied with Mississippi State’s Julia Lopez Ramirez at 13 under in the Westfield regional and could vie for the individual national title if her hot streak continues.
🏆 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 🏆
Next Stop: 𝙉𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 #HailState🐶 pic.twitter.com/RN6S4tlDZU
— Mississippi State Women’s Golf (@HailStateWG) May 10, 2023
