CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA – Clemson surged to the lead after the first round of the 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships, posting an 8-under-par 280 to lead by one stroke, while Florida State’s Lottie Woad is atop the individual leaderboard with a seven-under-par 65 over the first 18 holes. The championship is being hosted on the North Course at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa (6,330 yards/par 72).
The round of 280 marked Clemson’s best single-round score (gross score) ever in an NCAA Women’s Golf Championship and provided a one-stroke lead over Texas A&M. The Tigers were led by sophomore Isabella Rawl, who registered a six-under-par 66, one stroke back of Woad for the first-round lead. For Rawl, the 66 was the best-ever in an NCAA Championship round in Clemson history and the second-best score by a Clemson player in any NCAA tournament round. It also marked her career-best 18-hole round, gross score and vs. par. Rawl was backed by strong outings from senior Annabelle Pancake (69) and junior Melena Barrientos (71).
“It’s hard when you only get one practice round,” said Clemson Head Coach Kelley Hester. “We are still learning the golf course, so our expectations were under control and several of the girls did get off to a great start. For Isabella to shoot six-under on this golf course is very impressive. The rest of the team hung in there while learning the course and stayed very mentally strong and adjusted where they needed to. I felt like we played consistently and took advantage of some of the opportunities we had.”
Woad, who was under par during the entire first round on Friday, closed her day with two birdies on her final three holes. Her 65 total was one stroke shy of the all-time NCAA Championship record of 64 set by Megan McChrystal of LSU in 2010. Woad is now a total of 62 strokes under par for her 19-tournament career as a Seminole and six strokes under par in four NCAA Championship rounds.
👉 RESULTS: Team Leaderboard | Individual Leaderboard | Second Round Pairings
“I drove the ball well and left myself in pretty much every fairway,” said Woad following the round. “I’m feeling really good. The course is really good and the greens are rolling great. You need to be strategic off the tee. If you can do that, you can hit a lot of wedges into the greens here.”“Lottie played an exceptional round of golf, she hit some really great golf shots that gave her some tap-ins, while also making some lengthy putts,” said Florida State Head Coach Amy Bond. “A score of 65 is an exceptional round anywhere but especially in the NCAA Championship.”
On Friday, 11 of the 30 teams posted under-par rounds, with Texas A&M making a run during the afternoon wave to within one of Clemson’s team lead.
“Provided the conditions, I thought the afternoon wave was definitely tougher, especially that finish, it got cool and windy,” said Texas A&M Head Coach Gerrod Chadwell. “Our scorecard was pretty clean, but we need to clean up some putting stuff. I’m super proud of the fight because that finish was really tough. We didn’t get off to the cleanest of starts but we had a heck of a back nine and put us in position to hopefully get another one early in the morning.”
🏆 2024 DI WOMEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP: Schedule, results
The second round of the championship will tee off on Saturday, May 18 at 6:40 a.m. PST.
Finals play for the 2024 championships consists of three days of stroke play over 54 holes on Friday thru Sunday (May 17-19), after which the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team will be determined. That is followed by a final day of 18 holes of stroke play (Monday, May 20) to determine the top eight teams that will advance to match play as well as the 72-hole individual champion. The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format that will consist of quarterfinals and semifinals conducted on Tuesday, May 21, followed by the finals on Wednesday, May 22.
