Monthly Archives: April 2022
A&T Records Three-Peat at Women’s Collegiate Championship
By: North Carolina A&T State University
STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. – North Carolina A&T women’s golf won the National Women’s Collegiate Championship for the third straight year after shooting a final-round 20-over 308 on Wednesday at the par-72, 6,104-yard Eagle’s Landing Country Club.
A&T senior Christyn Carr won the tournament as an individual with one of the best career rounds. She shot a 1-under 71 over her final 18 holes to finish the tournament with a 2-over 146. Wednesday marked the seventh time in program history the Aggies have won a tournament, marking Carr’s third tournament win.
A&T finished four strokes ahead of Delaware State (8-over, 152) after trailing the Hornets by six following the first round on Tuesday. Texas Southern finished third at 65-over 641.
Individually, Delaware State’s Nattavadee Khunsri finished second behind Carr (8-over, 152), followed by Texas Southern’s Rev Alcantara (11-over, 155), A&T graduate Isabella Miravite (12-over, 156) and there was a three-way tie for fifth.
Carr entered the day tied for first place with Delaware State’s Jirada Klauymaingarm, as both ladies shot a 75 on Tuesday. But on Wednesday, Carr had the lowest score of the tournament’s second round. She birdied the par-4, 416-yard third hole for the second straight day to put her at 1-under early.
After a bogey on the eighth, she ended the front nine with a birdie on the 415-yard, par-4 ninth. Carr moved back to 1-under after the first nine. She opened the back nine with three straight pars before a bogey on 13.
Carr remained consistent with four more pars before closing the tournament with a birdie on the par-5, 460 yard 18th. She birdied the hole for the second straight day and closed out the back nine at even par. Carr finished the tournament with seven birdies.
Miravite moved up nine places on Wednesday for her fourth-place finish. She shot a second-round 4-over 76. She bogeyed two of her first three holes before recording her first birdie on the day by carding a three on the 265-yard par-4 seventh. Miravite closed out her front nine with two straight pars to shoot a 37.
The back nine started with a bogey for Miravite. She then posted back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th got her to even par on the day. The 13th measured at 453 yards on a par-5, and the distance on the 14th was 325 yards on a par-4. However, four straight bogeys left her back nine score at 39.
Freshman Vileska Gelpi also had a top-10 finish. She recorded an 83 in Round 2 that included a birdie on the par-3, 150-yad eighth. Gelpi shot 17-over 161 for the tournament to finish 10th.
Senior Xuss Boira made the biggest jump of any Aggie, moving up 10 spots thanks to a strong back nine. She posted two birdies on the back nine, including the 168-yard par-3 11th and the 18th, to finish with a back-nine 37.
Boira shot a second-round 6-over 78, and she carded a 21-over 165 for the tournament to finish in a tie for 16th. Junior Jayla Rogers shot a 24-over 168 on Wednesday. She had a solid front nine by shooting a 39.
A&T finishes the season with a trip to Philadelphia for the PGA Works Championship from May 2-4.
Atlanta Athletic Club to Host 3 USGA Amateur Championships
By: Jonathan Coe
The Atlanta Athletic Club, in Johns Creek, Ga., has been chosen by the USGA as the host site for three future amateur championships: the 2025 U.S. Girls’ Junior, 2030 U.S. Amateur and 2035 U.S. Women’s Amateur championships. The club has previously hosted six USGA championships.
“We are thrilled to return to Atlanta Athletic Club to conduct these three USGA championships,” said Mark Hill, USGA senior managing director, Championships. “The USGA is looking forward to continuing our strong relationship with this famed club, which has been home to so many memorable USGA championships and legendary champions.”
These will be the seventh, eighth and ninth USGA championships held at Atlanta Athletic Club, including the 1976 U.S. Open, captured by Jerry Pate with a dramatic 5-iron shot on the 72nd hole. The club also hosted the 2014 U.S. Amateur (won by Gunn Yang), the 2002 U.S. Junior Amateur (won by Charlie Beljan), the 1990 U.S. Women’s Open (won by Betsy King), and the 1984 U.S. Mid-Amateur (won by Michael Podolak). The club was also the host of the 1950 U.S. Women’s Amateur (won by Beverly Hanson) on its original course, which is now known as East Lake Golf Club.
Atlanta Athletic Club has also hosted the 1963 Ryder Cup, three PGA Championships (1981, 2001 and 2011) and most recently, the 2021 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, won by Nelly Korda. In 2023, the club will celebrate its 125th anniversary.
“Atlanta Athletic Club is proud to continue its tradition of hosting national championships,” said Kevin Costello, club president. “Building on our enduring relationship with the USGA, it’s an honor to showcase our golf courses to the world and play host to these prestigious championships that truly embody the spirit of the amateur game and support the next generation of golfers.”
Located 25 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta, the Atlanta Athletic Club is a private 36-hole club founded in 1898 and the home club of four USGA champions: nine-time champion Bob Jones, three-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Alexa Stirling, and U.S. Women’s Amateur champions Dot Kirby and Martha Kirouac.
The club’s Highlands Course and Riverside Course were designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr., with Joe Finger assisting on the Highlands Course. Rees Jones redesigned both courses, completing his work on the Riverside Course in 2003 and the Highlands Course in 2016. The Riverside Course is currently being renovated under the guidance of Tripp Davis, work that is scheduled to be completed by the end of this summer.
The U.S. Girls’ Junior will be contested at the club July 14-19, 2025. The USGA will name a competition course at a later date. First conducted in 1949, the U.S. Girls’ Junior is open to female amateurs who have not turned 19 on or before the final day of the championship and have a Handicap Index® not exceeding 9.4. U.S. Girls’ Junior champions earn an exemption into the following year’s U.S. Women’s Open. Notable champions include Mickey Wright, JoAnne Gunderson Carner, Hollis Stacy, Nancy Lopez, Inbee Park, Lexi Thompson and Ariya Jutanugarn.
Atlanta Athletic Club will host its second U.S. Amateur Aug. 12-18, 2030, which will mark the 100th anniversary of Bob Jones’ completion of the “Grand Slam” (victories in the U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur, British Open and British Amateur). Jones was a past president and an active member of Atlanta Athletic Club until his death in 1971.
One of the USGA’s three original championships, the U.S. Amateur is open to amateur golfers who have a Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4. A field of 312 golfers will play two 18-hole rounds of stroke play on each of the Highlands and Riverside courses before the championship is cut to 64 players for match play on the Highlands Course. The championship is decided by a 36-hole final, and the champion and runner-up are invited to the following year’s U.S. Open Championship.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur will be held on the Highlands Course from Aug. 6-12, 2035. It is also one of the USGA’s first three championships, having debuted in 1895 along with the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open, marking the beginning of women’s competitive golf in this country. The U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and runner-up receive exemptions into the following year’s U.S. Women’s Open.
Monarchs Finish Tied for Third at C-USA Championship
By: Old Dominion University
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – The Old Dominion women’s golf team shot a final-round score of 327 for a three-day total of 955 and a share of third place at the Conference USA Championship. On the individual side, Jana Melichova and Federica Torre finished in the top-10 with Melichova collecting all-tournament team honors with a T3rd finish.
The Monarchs finished alongside Charlotte, FIU and Florida Atlantic in a four-way tie for third.
“We are glad to have moved up to third place,” head coach Mallory Kane said. “Conditions today were definitely the most difficult. We hung tough, and it was great to see Federica and Jana finish top-10.”
Melichova was at even par after 14 holes and had worked her way to within a shot of leader Letizia Bagnoli of Florida Atlantic before falling victim to the PGA National Championship Course’s famed Bear Trap. She played the 15th, 16th and 17th holes at 9-over par and bogeyed her final hole as well for a final-round 82. Melichova still finished tied for third at 231 (+15) for the third top-10 finish at the C-USA Championship in her career.
Torre jumped six more spots on Tuesday behind a final-round 77 to finish tied for eighth at 234. Leah Onosato rebounded to shoot 84 and post a three-round total of 250, which was good for a share of 42nd. Pilar Muguruza closed out the tournament with an 84 and finished in 49th at 256.
Sarah Busey was substituted into the Monarchs’ lineup for the final round and carded an 85.
No. 44 North Texas edged No. 49 UTSA by a single shot to claim the team title with a 54-hole total of 935 (+71).
FAU’s Bagnoli held on to win the individual medal by seven strokes despite shooting 79 on Tuesday.
Melichova will hope to hear her name called as an individual at-large bid to the NCAA Regionals when the selection show airs at 5 p.m. on April 27.
ODU Lineup
T3. Jana Melichova – 73-76-82—231
T8. Federica Torre – 81-76-77—234
T42. Leah Onosato – 76-90-84—250
49. Pilar Muguruza – 87-85-84—256
N/A. Sarah Busey – /-/-85
N/A. Elsie Verhoeven – 77-84-/
CNU Men’s Golf Finishes Tied for Sixth at Camp Lejeune Intercollegiate to Wrap Up Regular Season
By: Christopher Newport University
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — The nationally-ranked Christopher Newport men’s golf program wrapped up the regular season at the 2022 Camp Lejeune Intercollegiate on Sunday afternoon after advancing to the Gold Championship Field after two days of play. The Captains finished tied for sixth among the 12 teams playing on the Gold Course in the final round, shooting an 891 (+35) over the 54-hole tournament.
Christopher Newport fired a 286 on the Par 70 Scarlet course and added a 298 on the Gold course in the first two rounds to qualify for the championship field. In Sunday’s final round, CNU posted the fourth finest round of the day with a 307 to wrap up the event tied for sixth with Guilford just 29 strokes back of champion Methodist University (+6).
Robb Kinder (+2) led the way for Christopher Newport with a 216 (71-70-75) and finished in the top-ten. Kinder tied for seventh after a two-under finish in his first trip around the Gold course and a three-over showing the second time through the more challenging layout.
Alex Price (+5) also finished in the top 20 with a 13th place showing in the three-round tournament. He fired a two-under 68 on the Scarlet course and backed that up with a one-over 73 in the opening round on the Gold course. Price ran into a little trouble on Sunday and slipped back to 13th, but the junior southpaw continues to impress as the all-time leader in scoring at CNU. Following the final round on Sunday, Price set a new program record for scoring with a 71.8 average through 22 rounds this season, including 13 rounds under par.
All five Captains contributed scoring efforts in the 54-hole tournament. Aidan Baron and Jackson Gessaman each tied for 39th with matching 14-over 228’s. Baron went 75-79-74 while Gessaman chipped in a 72-76-80. Carrter Morris tied for 58th with a 241 (75-86-80) and finished at +27.
Christopher Newport will now wait to see if they’ve done enough to earn an at-large berth into the NCAA Division III Men’s Golf Championships. The field for the championship event will be announced on May 2 at NCAA.com.
Lauren Sims Fires Second Career Round Under Par to Lead CNU Women’s Golf at Historic Triangle Invitational
By: Christopher News University
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — Leading Christopher Newport to a third-place showing on the team leaderboard, junior Lauren Sims fired her second career round under par with a second-round 71 (-1) at the Historic Triangle Invitational on Tuesday afternoon. Sims joined Elena Rezac (+7) in the top-five on the player leaderboard after the Captains’ freshman scored a career-best 151 in the 36-hole tournament.
Sims shot the low round in the event which featured 36 players from nine different teams. The only sub-par round out of 72 came with just two bogeys paired with three birdies and 13 pars. She picked up her second round under par in the last three rounds played after also firing a 71 in the final round of the Jekyll Island Women’s Collegiate. With the performance, Sims joins Erica Whitehouse as the only CNU players to record multiple rounds under par during her career.
In Tuesday’s final round, Sims birdied the first hole of the day on the 332-yard Par 4 first. She added under-par holes on two of the three Par 3 holes on the front nine to go out in 34 strokes. Sims then piled up a run of six straight pars and nine of her last ten holes to close in 37 on the back.
After shaving ten strokes off her opening round score, Sims flew up to fifth on the individual leaderboard. She finished in 152 strokes (81-71) and trailed Rezac by just one for fourth place overall. Rezac recorded a 151 (75-76) with back-to-back impressive rounds.
The CNU freshman was one-over on the front and gave back just three strokes on the back to finish with a four-over 76 on day two. She birdied the 144-yard Par 3 tenth hole and edded another birdie on the 325-yard Par 4 12th. With her career-best performance in the final regular season tournament of the year, Rezac finished just four strokes off the pace set by Lynchburg’s Emily Brubaker (+3) for individual medalist honors.
Christopher Newport senior Shreya Ganta (+15) closed out the year with a 159 (81-78), good for 11th on the leaderboard. The Captains’ All-American had ten pars and birdied the 442-yard Par 5 seventh hole in the round.
Rounding out the Captains’ performance overall was Cameron Marshall (+48) and Hannah Bristow (+56). Marshall shot a 91 to tie for her third lowest round of the season while Bristow shaved six strokes off her score to finish with an even 200 (103-97). The senior wrapped up a career-year with a consisten 98.0 stroke average
Lynchburg won the team title at the tournament with a +50, edging out Bridgewater by a single stroke with a 626. CNU was 28 strokes back with a 654 (338-316) for third place while Drew (+88), Sweet Briar (+172), and Meredith (+187) rounded out the 36-hole event.
