The No. 3 Texas A&M women’s golf team headed to Lake Elmo, Minnesota and teed off at the par 72, 6,395-yard Royal Golf Course on Tuesday, Sept. 11.
This is the Aggies’ second tournament of the season after shooting 10-under for 3rd place at the Carmel Cup last week.
The A&M lineup consisted of graduate Jennie Park, freshman Cayetana Fernández García-Poggio, senior Zoe Slaughter, junior Adela Cernousek and sophomore Mia Nixon, who made her collegiate debut.
Cayetana played an impressive first collegiate round with a score of 3-under last week. On Monday, The ANNIKA Foundation named Cayetana as a candidate for the 2023-24 ANNIKA Award. Since 2014, the ANNIKA Award has been presented to the top Division I collegiate golfer. The winner is voted by players, coaches and media at the end of each season.
Day 1 on the course left the Aggies in 5th place. Nixon shot 3-under 69 in the first round of her college career. Slaughter was right behind Nixon with a score of 2-under 70.
This year’s Annika Invitational is highly competitive. South Carolina finished Day 1 at the top of the leaderboard with a score of 15-under. Wake Forest and San Jose State tied for second with 11-under.
Head Coach Gerrod Chadwell said the team can improve their performance.
“The course was very gettable today, but we didn’t fully capitalize on it,” Chadwell said. “We got off to a slow start last week as well and fought our way back in it, so I know we can come out these next two rounds and climb the leaderboard. Mia [Nixon] was very strong today. Her game was sharp and looked great. I was really proud to see how she competed.”
The Maroon and White kept steady play on Day 2 and kept their 5th place spot with a score of 8-under. Park made her mark with five-straight birdies going into the back nine.
South Carolina and Wake Forest kept a cushion between themselves and the rest of the competition. The Gamecocks were carried by freshman Maylis Lamoure while the Demon Deacons were led by senior Mimi Rhodes, both tied for 1st place at 7-under on the player leaderboard.
Wednesday was a consistent and stable round for the Aggies as they finished the tournament in 5th place at 8-under. The Demon Deacons continued their fight for first and were ultimately passed by the Oregon Ducks by one stroke.
The Gamecocks kept up the momentum and were untouched at the top of the leaderboard for the third day in row. South Carolina took home the well-deserved victory at 26-under.
The Aggies tee off next at the Stephens Cup on Oct. 9-11 at Trinity Forest Golf Course in Dallas.