South Carolina women’s golf staying close to home as NCAA regional No. 1 seed
The NCAA Women’s Golf Championship opens with competition in six regionals beginning May 8. Like always, the South Carolina Gamecocks own a prominent place in the pre-tournament conversations.
Carolina, ranked fourth nationally, earned the top seed in the Athens, Georgia regional and joined three other SEC teams — Texas A&M, Mississippi State and LSU — in receiving No. 1 regional spots.
Other Palmetto State teams in the field of 72 include three conference champions — Clemson (ACC), Furman (Southern) and College of Charleston (Colonial Athletic Association).
Clemson is a No. 4 seed assigned to the Pullman, Washington regional. Charleston, No. 8, and Furman, No. 10, will join USC in Athens.
The Gamecocks will be in the tournament for the 24th-straight year and have advanced to the nationals 10 of the past 12 years. This year’s regional will be played on the University of Georgia course, an annual fixture on USC’s schedule.
Carolina has won five regional titles, the most recent in 2017 and all since Kalen Anderson became coach in 2008. Sophomore Hannah Darling, a finalist for the national player of the year award, heads the Gamecocks lineup.
Darling and senior Mathilde Claisse have posted the season’s best scoring averages, and Claisse put together a career-best performance in winning the individual title in the prestigious Darius Rucker Invitational at Long Cove Club on Hilton Head Island.
Although the Gamecocks have not won a tournament this season, the team matched a school record with 10 top-10 finishes against the nation’s toughest schedule and finished lower than fifth only once. Carolina has been ranked in the top five by Golfstat all season.
Clemson won its first ACC championship, defeating Virginia for the title, and will be in the NCAAs for the eighth time since the program’s inception in 2013.
The Pullman regional includes the nation’s No. 1 team, Stanford, and the No. 1 women’s amateur in the world, Stanford’s Rose Zhang.
The Tigers, ranked No. 24, have faced five of their regional foes in regular season play and compiled an 8-3 record. Overall, Clemson has played against 43 teams in the NCAA field.
Senior Savannah Grewal, junior Annabelle Pancake and sophomore Melena Barrientos all have NCAA tournament experience. Completing the lineup will be freshman Chloe Holder and Isabella Rawl, who won the match that clinched the ACC title.
Furman and Charleston earned NCAA berths on the strength of conference championships, and both won impressively.
The Paladins, who will be playing in their 24th NCAA tourney, won the Southern Conference championship by 19 strokes and placed four players in the top 10 individually. Senior Anna Morgan won the league’s player of the year honor for the second straight year.
Charleston dominated the Colonial Athletic Association tournament, winning by 17 strokes. Emma Schimpf claimed medalist honors.
This will be the Cougars’ 10th NCAA regional and third in a row.
This postseason marks the first time the women’s field has been expanded to 72 teams to mirror the men’s tournament. There are now six 12-team regional sites with six individuals who will play 54 holes. The top-five teams and the low individual on a non-advancing team from each regional site will move on to the NCAA Championship (May 19-24) at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Chip shots. The USC and Clemson men’s teams struggled in their conference tournaments, the Gamecocks finishing 14th in the SEC at St. Simons Island, Georgia and the Tigers placing ninth in the ACC at Pinehurst, North Carolina. ... Sam Jackson, Zach Herold and Michael Sims combined to lead the CC of Lexington to the SCGA’s Trescott Championship at Rock Hill CC. Lexington also won the pro-am portion of the tournament with pro Greg Payne joining the amateur trio. ... The Sonic Columbia City Women’s tournament, which has expanded to allow eligibility from 10 additional counties, will be played June 5-6 at Columbia CC. Catherine Shealy is defending champion. ... The Midlands Chevy Dealers Columbia Men’s Championship is set for July 20-22 at Spring Valley CC. Patrick Stephenson captured the 2022 title at the Spur at Northwoods.
