LAKE ELMO, Minn. — As her teammates patiently waited near the back of the 18th green, Hannah Darling took her phone and walked to the far side of it to call home.
It’s there she released emotions that had been pent up for months. Darling, a three-time All-American at South Carolina, said the worst week of her life happened at the NCAA Championship in May. This summer, she had to reset. She didn’t play for a month, hardly touched a club at that.
And now in a two-week span, she has had two of the most rewarding victories of her life.
Darling, a senior, birdied her final two holes and played the last 10 in 6 under to win the 2024 ANNIKA Intercollegiate at Royal Golf Club outside of Minneapolis. Darling topped teammate Louise Rydqvist by a shot for medalist honors, and the duo were a big reason why the No. 12 Gamecocks won by a record-margin of 27 shots, finishing at 31 under for the tournament.
“A lot of people said that it was the wrong decision to not play in July, but deep down, I knew it was,” Darling said. “So, you know, I just trusted me. And all along, I’ve trusted me.”
That trust resulted in Darling bouncing back after a slow start Wednesday. She was 2 over after 5 holes, and her three-shot overnight lead was gone.
She made eagle on the par-5 ninth to tie the lead, then she chased Rydqvist for a majority of the back nine. In the group behind her teammate, Darling watched as Rydqvist made birdie after birdie of her own, so she knew she had to be aggressive.
When Rydqvist made par on the par-5 17th, it left an opportunity for Darling to one-up her teammate. She did that, and then she had 20 feet for eagle on the closing hole and needed just a birdie to win. She nearly holed the eagle, but the tap-in for birdie is a moment she’ll savor for a while.
“This is what it’s all about, watching, helping these kids grow and develop,” South Carolina coach Kalen Anderson said. “And we’ve been in a lot of conversations and some tough places, and it’s just amazing. I have the chills. I’m emotional. Couldn’t be any prouder of her right now, where she came from because it was tough.”
This was the 10th edition of the tournament, and the Gamecocks have won it four times. Rydqvist shot 6-under 66 in the final round, the best score of the day, and finished at 13 under for the week. Rydqvist was one of four co-medalists last year, but she’s not going home empty handed.
One player on the winning team at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate earns an exemption into the LPGA’s The ANNIKA Driven by Gainbridge in November. As a team, the Gamecocks decided to let Rydqvist have the exemption, one she earned for the second straight year.
“In my future, I hope there’s a lot of LPGA events,” Darling said. “And not that it’s not a great opportunity, it is. But also, you know, Louise has had a great summer. Louise was the obvious choice.”
Sophomore Maylis Lamoure finished T-6 for South Carolina. Wake Forest senior Carolina Lopez-Chacarra was the only other player to reach double digits under par, finishing at 10 under for the week.
In the team competition, Oregon placed second at 4 under while No. 7 Wake Forest was third at 3 under. No. 14 Arizona State bounced back after a slow opening round and placed fourth. No. 16 Duke and No. 4 UCLA rounded out the top six, with those teams earning invitations back to the tournament in 2025.
