Cowgirls finish in tie for third, qualify for NCAA Championship
STILLWATER, Okla. —- No. 1-seeded Oklahoma State’s Maddison Hinson-Tolchard claimed the individual regional championship while the Cowgirls finished in a tie for third and punched their ticket to the NCAA Championship Tournament in Arizona after the third and final day of the Stillwater Regional at Karsten Creek Golf Club on Wednesday.
Hinson-Tolchard turned in an impressive front nine that included three birdies and no bogeys to go along with a back nine in which she pared the final seven holes to finish with a 3-under 69 on the day and 4-under on the tournament. She became the first Oklahoma State women’s golfer to win a regional tournament since Pernilla Lindberg did it in 2007 in St. George Utah.
The Cowgirls as a team were one of only two schools in the field to shoot under par on Wednesday at 1-under. The team finished 17-over for the tournament, leaving them tied with fourth-seeded Auburn for third. No. 2-seeded Arizona State finished two shots better than OSU for second and third-seeded Baylor shot 1-over on its way to a convincing regional title.
Lianna Bailey had an excellent final round for Oklahoma State, managing to eagle the 18th and card a 1-under 71. She finished the tournament 12-over in total while tying for best in the field in par-five scoring at 8-under and tying for third in birdies with 10.
Hailey Jones and Han-Hsuan Yu were solid all day for the Cowgirls and played big roles in the advancement of the team. Jones put together her best round of the week, shooting 1-over with four birdies. Yu remained steady as she had all week, posting a 2-over 74 with birdies on three of the final seven holes.
Rina Tatematsu was the final OSU golfer in the field, finishing at 5-over on the day and 9-over for the tournament. Tatematsu finished in a tie for 24th on the individual leaderboard after rounds of 74, 74 and 77.
With the top four finish, the Cowgirls will be in Scottsdale, Ariz., starting May 20th to play for an NCAA Championship. Further details will be released as they become available.
Tulsa junior Lilly Thomas finished in 22nd place at the NCAA Stillwater Regional on Wednesday. Thomas completed the par-72 Karsten Creek Course with a 54-hole total of eight-over par 224.
Thomas, a junior from Bentonville, Ark., carded a final round 76. Her 22nd place finish was the top performance among the six individual participants at the regional. Thomas was 2-over par after her first nine holes today and 4-over after holes 10 and 11. She knocked in birdie putts on holes 16 and 18, but a double-bogey on the 17th hole put her at 4-over for the entire round.
Thomas completed the 2021-22 season with eight top-25 performances in 11 tournaments.
Baylor led from start to finish to capture the team title with a score of 1-over par 865, followed by Arizona State, Oklahoma State and Auburn. Those four teams and the top two individuals not from an advancing team will play at the NCAA Championship, May 20-25, at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.