The Wildcats put together four strong rounds to secure a spot in the final eight.
After a runner-up finish at the NCAA Regionals, the ’Cats traveled to Carlsbad, California for the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship. Facing a stacked field of 30 teams — including all of the top 12 nationally — Northwestern needed a top-eight finish in the four-round stroke play portion to advance to match play.
The team delivered, putting together four consistent rounds to place third overall and punch its ticket to the match play bracket.
In the first round, Northwestern posted a 3-over team score. Lauryn Nguyen, Dianna Lee and Ashley Yun each shot even-par, with all three birdieing the par-4 11th and turning in solid rounds. The ’Cats ended the day tied for eighth and were looking to climb the leaderboard to secure a spot inside the top eight for match play.
Round two proved more favorable. With an earlier tee time and calmer conditions, the course was more playable. Lee, Yun and Elise Lee each shot 1-under, combining for a bogey-free stretch with four birdies on the back nine. The strong performance vaulted NU into solo second, trailing only No. 1 Stanford heading into day three.
The third round was Northwestern’s best of the tournament. Nguyen led the charge with a spectacular 5-under 67, beginning her round with a hole-out eagle on the par-4 1st and adding five birdies with no bogeys over her final 11 holes. Hsin Tai Lin fired a bogey-free 70 and Dianna Lee added a 1-under round to keep the momentum going. The team remained in second place with a comfortable 16-shot cushion above the match play cut line. While Stanford stayed out front, the ’Cats had put together an impressive first three days at the national championship.
Northwestern carded a 10-over in the final round but stayed comfortably in the top eight thanks to strong performances earlier in the week. Yun led the team on the final day with an even-par 72, highlighted by five birdies.
The course at Omni La Costa played tough all week, with an average score of 74.51 on the par-72 layout. Day two proved the most difficult, with the field averaging nearly three shots over par at 74.94. No hole played under par for the tournament. The par-5 6th and par-4 11th played easiest at even-par, while the par-4 13th was the toughest, averaging 4.43.
Nguyen led the way for Northwestern, finishing at 2-under. She posted rounds of 72, 72, 67 and 75 to close at that number. The senior stood out on par-3s and par-4s, shooting 3-under on the par-3s and 2-under on the par-4s, good for second and seventh best in the field respectively. She tied for 14th and will look to close out her career with a strong match play performance.
Yun and Dianna Lee also had standout weeks for the ’Cats, with Yun finishing even-par and Lee at 1-over. Yun was steady throughout the tournament, shooting 72, 71, 73 and 72. She made 15 birdies during the event and finished solo 19th. Lee carded rounds of 72, 71, 71 and 75. The junior ranked 12th in the field in par-4 scoring with an average of 3.98 and tied for 20th overall.
First-years Elise Lee and Tai Lin gained key postseason experience. Lee had strong middle rounds of 71 and 72, including a hole-out eagle on the par-4 9th. She tied for 40th at 6-over in the 161-player field. Tai Lin’s best round came on day three when she fired a 70 with two birdies and finished in a tie for 54th.
The ’Cats return to action today in the NCAA quarterfinals against No. 2 Arkansas. The Razorbacks will be a tough opponent as the second-ranked team in the nation, but Northwestern will aim to keep its strong play going.