With the calendar turning to March, we’re another month closer to the NCAA Championships at Grayhawk.
There was no shortage of big performances this past week. The LSU women topped a loaded field in South Carolina, and the Illinois men pulled off an improbable comeback.
Each week, Golfweek will put together a roundup of the best individual and team performances from across the country, as teams continue on the road to Grayhawk, highlighting spectacular performances and keeping you up to date on which teams are making a title push.
Here’s what you need to know from the last week in college golf.
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LSU wins Darius Rucker Invitational
Safe to say LSU will be looking forward to coming back to the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.
The Tigers, sixth in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, won their fourth tournament of the 2022-23 season at Long Cove Club at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. LSU finished at 6 over, four shots better than host No. 4 South Carolina, which led going into the final round.
🎵 and we’re the two best friends that anyone could have 🏆🤙@dariusrucker 🤝 @MathildeClaiss1 #Gamecocks🐔⛳️ // #ForeverToThee pic.twitter.com/UwvzpahUwX
— Gamecock Women's Golf (@GamecockWGolf) March 2, 2023
And the trophy is brilliant: a guitar, fitting for a tournament that Darius Rucker is involved in.
Freshman Edit Hertzman finished second, shooting 4-under 209 for the tournament and one shot behind South Carolina’s Mathilde Claisse for medalist honors. Second-ranked Ingrid Lindblad tied for 11th at 2 over, and Aine Donegan carded a T-13 finish at 3 over.
Claisse, a senior, notched her first collegiate victory. She’s also the first Gamecock to win the event. No team broke par in the final round. Second-ranked Wake Forest shot even par on the final day and finished fourth at 15 over.
Illinois' impressive comeback in the desert
When the Illinois men’s golf team started the final round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas, it was 10 strokes behind leader North Carolina. At the end of the day, the Fighting Illini were holding the trophy.
Illinois, ranked 11th, shot 11 under in the final round to vault past three teams and take the title. It beat No. 14 Texas by two shots, No. 12 Pepperdine by three and No. 3 North Carolina by five. No. 9 Oklahoma was six shots back.
The win is the fourth on the season for Illinois and the second straight to begin the spring.
Tommy Kuhl, ranked 19th, finished third at 9 under for Illinois. Adrien Dumont de Chassart shot 5-under 67 in the final round to finish T-17 at 4 under.
Florida senior Yuxin Lin captured the individual title at 13-under 203. The win was the first of his college career and earned him an exemption into the PGA Tour’s Shriners Children’s Open later this year in Las Vegas. It’s the third straight tournament the Gators have been at where one of their golfers won medalist honors, with Fred Biondi and Ricky Castillo also claiming victories this spring.
Texas freshman Christiaan Maas, ranked 21st, placed runner-up at 10 under. Pepperdine’s William Mouw shot 7 under in the final round and finished T-5 at 8 under.
Record-breaking performance for Maryland at ICON Invitational
Safe to say the Maryland women’s golf team had one of its best tournaments in team history in Houston.
The Terrapins tied for sixth at 17 under in the Icon Invitational at the Golf Club of Houston. That 17-under score set a new program record for 54 holes. Additionally, Maryland shot 10 under in the second round, which tied a single-round program record.
Check out how Maryland went #B1G at the Golf Club of Houston and shattered records along the way!
Recap ➡️ https://t.co/I3JpHFnj11#GolfTerps 🐢⛳️ pic.twitter.com/r6lvWmJrj4
— Maryland Women's Golf (@TerpsWGolf) March 1, 2023
Freshman Nicha Kanpai and junior Patricie Mackova finished T-8 at 8 under.
Texas A&M beat North Texas by 10 shots for the team title, and Zoe Slaughter shot 18 under for the Aggies to win by five shots over North Texas’ Audrey Tan.
Division II South Carolina-Aiken wins Div. I event Wexford Intercollegiate
South Carolina Aiken made a statement at the Wexford Intercollegiate.
The Division II program topped a field of Division I schools to win at the Wexford Plantation’s Champions course, beating Dayton by five shots and host Francis Marion by seven.
Leo Bono tied for second at 2 under, two shots behind medalist Grant Sellers from Francis Marion. Erik Olin finished T-8 at 3 over for USC Aiken.
It’s the fourth time in program history winning the Wexford Intercollegiate.
