The defending champions failed to advance to the NCAA Championship, a streak came to an end for one of the biggest names in women’s college golf, the 11th-ranked team in the country missed out by one shot and there was a playoff to determine the last team into the championship field.
In other words, Wednesday was just the end of another normal NCAA women’s regionals week.
Reminder, there were six regionals spread out all over the country. Each field had 12 teams and the top four in each advanced to the 24-team NCAA Championship May 20-25 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Here is a breakdown of what happened at each of the six regionals:
Tallahassee (Fla.) Regional at Seminole Legacy Golf Club: Host Florida State, ranked No. 16 by Golfstat, cruised to an easy team win by 17 shots over South Carolina and UCLA. The fourth spot went to Mississippi State, which was a bit of a surprise. The Bulldogs were ranked 34th and used a great opening round (three-over 291) to send them immediately into contention.
The biggest note here is that Ole Miss, the 2021 NCAA champions, were ranked 22nd in the country and failed to advance, finishing in sixth place, eight shots behind rival Mississippi State. A poor second round was the culprit of their week and this is the first time the defending champion did not qualify for the NCAA Championship since 2017 when Washington did not advance after winning the year before.
The Seminoles swept team and individual honors as FSU senior Beatrice Wallin won the individual race by a shot over Florida Atlantic’s Letizia Bagnoli.
Franklin (Tenn.) Regional at Vanderbilt Legends Club: Vanderbilt used its home-course advantage and cruised to an easy eight-shot victory over Alabama. The Commodores were ranked 35th and ended at 16 under par for a team total.
Seven-time NCAA champion Duke failed to advance to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2011. The Blue Devils (No. 21) shot four-over 868 for the three days and missed fourth place by only one shot. Texas A&M finished fourth to advance.
Alabama senior Polly Mack easily won the individual race, shooting 65-73-66 to end 12 under and win by four shots over Wake Forest’s Rachel Kuehn and Texas A&M’s Jennie Park.
Ann Arbor (Mich.) Regional at University of Michigan Golf Course: There were no surprises here as the top four seeds in the region advanced. San Jose State shot consecutive four-under par team scores in Rounds 2 and 3 to beat Virginia by three. Arkansas and host Michigan tied for third place, three shots ahead of Virginia Tech. It’s the second time that the Wolverines qualified for the NCAA Championship.
San Jose State senior Natasha Andrea Oon won the individual crown by five shots. She shot 70-69-68 for a six-under 207 total.
Stillwater (Okla.) Regional at Karsten Creek: Another regional where there were no surprises if you look at the numbers. Baylor won by 14 shots over Arizona State while host Oklahoma State—the 2021 NCAA Championship runner-up to Ole Miss—and Auburn tied for third place to move on to Grayhawk. They were the top four seeds.
The key here is that Auburn (No. 19) struggled mightily in the first round and was well off the pace. The Tigers shot a sensational final-round 12-under 276 to clip Michigan State by four shots. The 276 was the lowest round of the week by nine shots.
Oklahoma State sophomore Maddison Hinson-Tolchard won the individual title by two shots over a trio from Baylor.
Albuquerque (N.M.) Regional at University of New Mexico Championship Course: The biggest shock of the week came here as 11th-ranked Florida did not advance out of regionals. The Gators faltered during Round 2 and were not able to rebound enough in the final round. They missed out by one shot over TCU for the coveted fourth position. Arizona (No. 23) was the third seed in the region and failed to advance too.
Second-ranked Oregon, the Pac 12 Conference champions, continued to cruise in the final round after opening with two under-par rounds and beat Texas by three shots. Georgia was in third place.
The Ducks won the individual race too with junior Briana Chacon shooting 65-69-73 for a nine-under 207 total. Georgia’s Jenny Bae was second, four shots back.
Stanford (Calif.) Regional at Stanford Golf Course: The 24th and final spot in the NCAA Championship field came down to a playoff between 37th-ranked Northwestern and 48th-ranked Purdue. Both teams were tied heading into the final round and both shot four-over 288 to remain tied after regulation.
Purdue coach Devon Brouse previously announced that he would retire at the end of this season, putting an end to an illustrious coaching career that spanned well over 40 years. Ultimately, his Boilermakers won the playoff, giving Brouse a chance to coach in one more NCAA Championship.
In the playoff, all five from Purdue and all five from Northwestern played the par-4 10th hole in two groups and their combined score determined the winner. Purdue’s five played it in one over par. Northwestern’s five played it in three over.
At the top of the team leaderboard, USC shot three under-par rounds to win by eight shots over LSU and host Stanford, the top-ranked team in the country. On the individual side, USC freshman Amari Avery shot 69-67-68 for an eight-under 204 total to beat Stanford’s Rose Zhang by a shot.