The Texas A&M women’s golf team began Sunday’s final round of the season’s Big 12 championship tournament 11 strokes behind the first-place Oklahoma State Cowgirls.
They finished it as Big 12 Champions for the third time. After winning the conference title in 1998 and 2006, the No. 24 Aggies took the 2010 championship with a record-breaking surge on the final day.
The team entered the last round tied for third place with Kansas State but completed the 11-shot comeback — the largest in the history of the Big 12 women’s tournament — on the final hole, when junior Sarah Zwartynski’s 10-foot putt for par fell in to clinch a one-stroke win for the Aggies.
“We call Sarah the ‘10-foot queen’ because she’s so good from that distance,” said A&M Head Coach Trelle McCombs. “I asked her if she was ready, and she said, ‘I am,’ and I knew she was going to make it.”
OSU sophomore Caroline Hedwall was the tournament’s individual champion, winning the title by a convincing eight strokes. Her birdie on the last hole brought the Cowgirls to within a shot, forcing Zwartynski to make par or better to preserve the win.
Freshman Sarah Beth Davis shot a final-round 69, three under par, to lead the surge. Senior Julia Boland’s final round ended with a two-over 74; senior Ashley Freeman and freshman Chloe Garner both shot 78s.
McCombs was quick to point out that every Aggie played an integral part in the victory.
“Today was such a total team effort,” she said. “Before the round we talked about focusing on what we wanted to happen, rather than being scared or worried about what could happen. We started with the first hole and continued that philosophy on every hole.”
Finishing behind Hedwall in the individual rankings were Baylor’s Hannah Burke (+2 overall), OSU’s Victoria Park (+3), Missouri’s Julia Potter (+5), and Colorado’s Emily Talley and Zwartynski tied for fifth at +6.
Davis tied for seventh, Boland for 11th, Freeman for 20th and Garner for 44th.
A&M, the only team from the Big 12 ranked in the top 25 by the latest Golfweek polls, will head next to the NCAA regionals, which begin May 5. The Aggies finished 11th in last season’s NCAA West Regional.