On Friday, Sept. 1, the No. 3 Texas A&M women’s golf team traveled to Pebble Beach, California and teed off for the first time this season.
The Aggies began their 2023-24 season at Pebble Beach Golf Links, which is currently named the No. 1 Public Golf Course in America. The par 72, 6,828-yard course has been a host to the PGA Tour since 1947, including six U.S. Open Championships and eight major championships still to come.
The A&M lineup — led by head coach Gerrod Chadwell — included junior Adela Cernousek, graduate Jennie Park, senior Zoe Slaughter, freshman Sky Sudberry, graduate Blanca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio and freshman Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio, the No. 2 ranked amateur in the world.
Alongside the Maroon and White in the fight for the 2023 Carmel Cup included Arkansas, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt, Stanford and Texas Tech.
Day 1 landed the Aggies tied for third at 4-over with Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.
A&M had a strong round, led by Cernousek and Cayetana, with a score of 2-under for the day. Park finished her first round of her senior season 1-over. Slaughter was right behind Park with a score of 2-under. Blanca and Sudberry both finish Day 1 5-over.
No. 1 Stanford upheld its champion status with an impressive score of 8-under.
“Cata [Fernández García-Poggio] and Adela [Cernousek] were very solid and had complete control all day,” Chadwell said “We have two first timers on the road with us and they are still getting comfortable, and it is the first tournament of the year for everyone, so we are knocking off a little bit of rust. I am encouraged by how we played, and I think tomorrow we will see everyone settle into their game.”
The Maroon and White seemed to find their swing on Day 2.
A&M hit the best round of the day and came in 10-under. Cernousek, Slaughter and Blanca claimed a score of 3-under.
Blanca sunk her 201-yard shot beautifully into the par-3, No. 12 hole, making the first ace of the season.
“We got off to a great start today,” Chadwell said “It was a much better day. We hit some more shots and got some more birdies. The golf course isn’t playing super tough, so there are tons of opportunities. With play six and count five out here, anything can happen in a hurry. We are excited to get back out there tomorrow and see what happens.”
Day 3 was a fight for second place between the Aggies and Razorbacks. A&M stayed on the heels of Arkansas through the front nine and the majority of the back nine until Arkansas ultimately took the lead through 14.
Sudberry shot her best game of the tournament at 1-under and finished 12-over overall. Blanca shot 3-over for the day and 5-over for the tournament. Park tied for 19th with a score of 1-over for the tournament. Slaughter finished the day 4-under and tied for 6th at 5-under. Cayetana placed 11th with a score of 3-under. Cernousek had an excellent final day and secured 4th place at 6-under.
Stanford came and conquered with a score of 22-under and took home the 2023 Carmel Cup. Arkansas started its season off right and placed second at 14-under. A&M fell right behind the Razorbacks and placed third at 10-under.
The Aggies tee off next at The Annika Intercollegiate on Sept. 11-13 at Royal GC in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.