There’s no better way to start the notebook this week than by mentioning the two college women’s programs which made school history.
Both Charlotte (in its third season) and Virginia Tech (in its fifth) earned its first victories in program history this week. The 49ers won the Yale Invitational by four shots, while the Hokies tied with LSU at the Princess Anne Invitational. Virginia Tech’s Emily Mahar, an Australian, claimed the Princess Anne individual title at 7-under 203 thanks to a team record 5-under 65 in the final round.
“What a comeback,” said Charlotte head coach Holly Clark of her team erasing of a 12-shot deficit in the final round. “It’s great to have all of (the players) finish top 20 this week and see the fight from everyone coming down the stretch. They came here determined and they took care of business. I couldn’t be prouder of the whole team effort.”
Golfweek takes a loop around the country to update you on all the latest news in the college game.
Men
LSU posted its lowest score in program history en route to the David Toms Intercollegiate at 63 under. Yes, 63 under. That’s 36 shots clear of runner-up Memphis. Three Tigers finished inside the top four, with Trey Winstead and Hayden White tying for individual honors.
You’d think that has to be some 54-hole record, right? Nope.
Playing host at the Fighting Irish Classic, Notre Dame won its third event of the season, besting North Carolina by one stroke and third-place Iowa by 19. Rutgers junior Christopher Gotterup claimed the individual title at 14 under, eight shots clear of North Carolina’s Ryan Burnett and Arizona State’s Mason Andersen at 6 under.
Playing in the Fighting Irish Classic has its benefits, just ask Georgia Southern’s Luukas Alakulppi.
UNLV’s Jack Trent won the 2019 Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas, earning a spot in the PGA Tour’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open last week. Trent had a professional debut to remember at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, shooting four sub-70 rounds en route to a T-29 finish.
Georgia Tech overtook Wake Forest for the No. 1 spot in the Men’s Team Collegiate Rankings, followed by Texas Tech, Oklahoma and North Carolina.
Vanderbilt’s John Augenstein sits atop the individual rankings, followed by BYU’s Peter Kuest, Duke’s Adrien Pendaries, UAB’s William Walker III and Arizona State’s Alex del Rey.
Women
The Kent State women remained perfect this fall season, winning their third consecutive event at the Illini Invitational at Medinah. Ole Miss’ Kennedy Swann claimed individual honors at 9 under.
Despite their early success, the Golden Flashes are still outside the top five of the Golfweek/Sagarin Women’s Team Collegiate Rankings. Stanford leads the way, followed by Wake Forest, USC, Texas and Arizona State.
Three Cardinal players are in the top five of the individual rankings, with Andrea Lee in first, Angelina Ye third and Albane Valenzuela fourth. San Jose State’s Natasha Andrea Oon is in second and Wake Forest’s freshman phenom Rachel Kuehn is fifth.
We’ll end this week by taking a stroll down memory lane to 1995. The Arizona State women, the NCAA champions that year, went undefeated en route to a third consecutive national title. No team since has come close to finishing a season undefeated. The Sun Devils won each event by an average of 25 shots, had the individual champion in nine of 10 tournaments and placed all five starters on the All-Pac 10 team. At the NCAA Championship that season, ASU won by 26 shots.
This weekend, the team will be honored as part of the newest members of the Sun Devil Hall of Fame at the Washington State-Arizona State football game.
Scores and more
Keep up with all the latest college golf tournaments via our scores page and the Golfstat Live app.
—
While I’d like to think I’ve got a respectable handicap when it comes to my job, I could always use a good read. There are so many great stories that don’t get enough attention, so if you know of any, I’m all ears. You can find me on Twitter @AdamWoodard or via email at adwoodard@golfweek.usatoday.com.
