Another week has come and gone, which means we’re closer to the NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Although it remains early in the spring season, every week is pivotal as teams jockey to get in a groove and play strong golf as the postseason nears.
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.
Rose Zhang wins again, Oregon comes from behind to win team title
Rose Zhang wins the Therese Hession Regional Challenge‼️
She now has eight victories in 15 career events!
🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/Ui501zsGPh
— Stanford Women's Golf (@StanfordWGolf) February 14, 2023
Donning the Stanford black and cardinal, Rose Zhang has teed it up in 15 college events. She has won eight of them. Her worst finish? T-12.
Zhang, the top-ranked amateur in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, continued her dominance of women’s college golf, capturing the individual title at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge on Tuesday for her fourth win this season, matching her total from last year, when she won the NCAA individual championship.
Consecutive rounds of 68 to open was enough to give Zhang a cushion heading into the final round at Palos Verdes Golf Club in California, and she fired an even-par 71 to close out her victory at 6-under 207. She finished three shots ahead of Oregon’s Ching-Tzu Chen, Baylor’s Silje Ohma and Texas’ Sophie Guo.
However, in the team competition, Oregon came from behind to beat the top-ranked Cardinal, finishing at 6 over and capturing a five-shot win. Oregon shot 4 under in the final round, the only team to finish under par, and carded the best round of the week from any team by two shots.
The win is Oregon’s first of the season and seventh overall for coach Derek Radley, all coming since the spring of 2021. The Ducks also won the tournament last year, too.
Making the most of wind cancellations
Last week, the Amer Ari Invitational in Hawaii, one of the top men’s tournaments of the spring, was canceled because of windy conditions. However, a couple teams who made the trip to the islands didn’t leave without some competition.
In a little Big 12-ACC matchup, Texas and Texas Tech took on Georgia Tech and North Carolina in match play at Hapuna Golf Course last Friday to make up for the tournament cancellation. Texas took on Georgia Tech while North Carolina faced Texas Tech.
In the first match, Texas Tech and North Carolina tied 3-3-0, but the match went to the Red Raiders through hole differential. Ludvig Aberg beat David Ford 7 and 6, and Calum Scott beat Ryan Burnett 5 and 3. Additionally, Jack Wall, who will tee it up in the Genesis Invitational on the PGA Tour this week, won his match against Nanu Mohan 2 up.
In the other matchup, Texas defeated Georgia Tech 4.5-1.5 Bartley Forrester had a 1-up victory for the Yellow Jackets, but that was the only match they would win. Brian Stark and Hiroshi Tai would halve their match, but Christiaan Maas, Travis Vick, Jacob Sosa and Tommy Morrison each won their matchups to give the Longhorns the win.
Another victory for Wake Forest
Another week, another win for the Wake Forest women’s golf team. This time at the Nexus Collegiate in the Bahamas.
Wake Forest shot 11-over 875 but held on to beat second-place LSU by seven shots at Albany Golf Club. Arizona State, Auburn and South Carolina rounded out the top five. It’s the fourth team win for Wake Forest this season.
In the individual competition, LSU’s Latanna Stone captured the title with a 6-under 210 performance, winning by five shots. Wake Forest’s Lauren Walsh finished second at 1 under.
The field was littered with stars. Wake Forest’s Rachel Kuehn (6th, +4), LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad (T-10, +6), Ole Miss’ Andrea Lignell (T-12, +7) and South Carolina’s Hannah Darling (T-12, +7) were just some of the names who battled it out in the Bahamas.
Oklahoma goes back-to-back in Puerto Rico
For the second straight year, the Oklahoma men’s golf team is leaving Puerto Rico victorious.
The Sooners captured the Puerto Rico Classic, shooting 16 under in the final round to finish at 30-under 834 and beat East Tennessee State by five shots. Georgia placed third with Wisconsin in fourth and Ohio State coming in fifth.
Four OU golfers finished in the top 10: Ben Lorenz tied for second at 10 under, Stephen Campbell Jr. and Drew Goodman tied for fifth at 9 under and Patrick Welch was at 8 under and T-8.
East Tennessee State’s Algot Kleen won the individual title at 13 under, beating Lorenz, Ohio State’s Maxwell Moldovan and South Carolina’s Rafe Reynolds by three shots.
A new No. 1 in the men's WAGR
Vanderbilt sophomore Gordon Sargent won his fourth collegiate title last week at the Hayt, and that helped propel him to the top spot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for the first time.
And that’s significant for many reasons.
First, it gives him 12 points in the PGA Tour University Accelerated rankings. If he reaches 20 by the end of his junior year, he will earn PGA Tour membership.
Sargent earned five points in PGA Tour U. Accelerated for becoming No. 1. He also earned a point at the 2022 Palmer Cup and 2022 World Amateur Team Championship. For winning the 2022 Div. I NCAA individual championship, he got three points, and he got two more for being named outstanding freshman.
The top-ranked player in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings, Sargent is on a great path to making the Tour because of his stellar play in college.
