Both University of Denver teams will be in action before the month ends, and by this time in Feburary all nine NCAA Division I programs based in Colorado will have started their spring schedules. The DU women, recently picked to finish No. 1 in the Summit League by its coaches, will be the first local team to tee it up in competition as the Pioneers will face Arizona State and Georgia in a three-school match on Sunday (Jan. 27) in Gold Canyon, Ariz.

This spring will be notable in several respects from a Colorado perspective, including:

— Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster will be defending her NCAA Division I women’s individual title in May as a Wake Forest senior before she begins her LPGA Tour career. This week, Kupcho regained the No. 1 spot in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, a position she held for 15 weeks in 2018.

— Former University of Colorado golfer Robyn Choi, who qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open in the Centennial State the past two years, likewise earned her LPGA Tour card in November through her performance in the Q-Series. But, unlike Kupcho, Choi elected to forego her remaining college eligibility to join the LPGA circuit as soon as possible. That will leave CU without its top player going into the spring.

“That’s a tough one to lose, but it’s exciting she gets to start her LPGA career,” CU coach Anne Kelly said recently on CUBuffs.com regarding Choi.

Junior Kirsty Hodgkins, like Choi an Australian, will likely take over the No. 1 position for the Buffs.

— Dawn Shockley, who grew up in Estes Park and played her college golf at DU, seems to be making an impression as the women’s coach at Oregon State. At midseason, the Beavers are ranked No. 25 in the nation, according to Golfstat.

While there are plenty of college veterans that figure to shine for Colorado-based DI teams, several freshmen demonstrated great promise in their first semester as college golfers, in the fall. That includes Colorado State University players Oscar Teiffel and Davis Bryant, who had the Rams’ top two scoring averages in the autumn. Another promising freshman is former Coloradan Elizabeth Wang, who posted a 71.25 scoring average in her first semester at Harvard.

Looking ahead to the spring, here’s a brief preview of the Colorado-based DI programs, broken into several categories:

SPRING SEASON OPENERS

— DU Women: Jan. 27 dual match vs. Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz.
— DU Men: Jan. 28-29 at Arizona Intercollegiate in Tucson, Ariz.
— CU Women: Feb. 3-5 at Northrop Grumman Invitational in Palos Verdes, Calif.
— CU Men: Feb. 7-9 at Amer Ari Intercollegiate in Waikoloa, Hawaii.
— UNC Men: Feb. 11-12 at Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational in St. George, Utah.
— CSU Women: Feb. 18-19 at The Rebel Beach in Las Vegas, Nev.
— CSU Men: Feb. 20 dual match vs. Denver in Palm Desert, Calif.
— UNC Women: Feb. 23-24 at GCU Invitational in Phoenix.
— Air Force Academy Men: Feb. 23-25 at Loyola Invitational in Goodyear, Ariz.

NATIONAL TEAM RANKINGS

Men
47. Colorado State (Golfstat; 51st Golfweek)
73. Colorado (Golfstat; 81st Golfweek)
118. Northern Colorado (Golfstat; 122nd Golfweek)
137. Denver (Golfstat; 149th Golfweek)
203. Air Force Academy (Golfstat; 204th Golfweek)

Women
36. Colorado (Golfweek; 42nd Golfstat)
69. Colorado State (Golfstat; 74th Golfweek)
79. Denver (Golfweek; 81st Golfstat)
149. Northern Colorado (Golfstat; 150th Golfweek)

NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS (in top 250)

Men
91. Former Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, Utah (Golfweek; 202nd Golfstat)
111. Daniel O’Loughlin, CU (Golfstat; 139th Golfweek)
118. Oscar Teiffel, CSU (Golfweek; 145th Golfstat)
120. Coby Welch, UNC (Golfstat; 160th Golfweek)
150. Davis Bryant, CSU (Golfstat; 189th Golfweek)
241. Trevor Olkowski, CU (Golfstat)

Women
11. Robyn Choi, CU (Golfstat; 20th Golfweek; will not compete in spring as she’s become an LPGA Tour member)
57. Coloradan Jennifer Kupcho, Wake Forest (Golfweek 72nd Golfstat)
72. Kirsty Hodgkins, CU (Golfweek; 73rd Golfstat)
87. Mary Weinstein, DU (Golfweek; 121st Golfstat)
97. Former Coloradan Elizabeth Wang, Harvard (Golfweek; 179th Golfstat)
190. Katrina Prendergast, CSU (Golfstat)

TEAM VICTORIES IN FALL
— CU Men (2): Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational; Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational.

— CSU Men (2): Ram Masters Invitational; Paintbrush Invitational.

— CSU Women (1): Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate.

INDIVIDUAL VICTORIES IN FALL
— Former Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, Utah (2): Showdown in the Rockies; Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational.  

— Ellen Secor, CSU (1): Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate.

— Daniel O’Loughlin, CU (1): Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational.

— Oscar Teiffel, CSU (1): Paintbrush Invitational.

— Trevor Olkowski, CU (1): Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational (tied for title before losing to Dunkle in a playoff, though both are officially credited with a win.)

TOP INDIVIDUAL FALL STROKE AVERAGE FOR EACH TEAM

CSU Men: Oscar Teiffel 70.77
UNC Men: Coby Welch 70.83
CU Men: Daniel O’Loughlin 71.2
CU Women: Robyn Choi 71.44
DU Women: Mary Weinstein 72.42
CSU Women: Katrina Prendergast 72.67
DU Men: Jun Ho Won 73.22
Air Force Academy Men: Luke Trujillo 74.4
UNC Women: Beah Cruz 75.0

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

CU Women: Pac-12 in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., April 15-17.
CSU Women: Mountain West in Rancho, Mirage, Calif., April 15-17.
UNC Women: Big Sky in Boulder City, Nev., April 19-21.
DU Women: Summit League in Newton, Kan., April 21-23.
CU Men: Pac-12 in Eugene, Ore., April 22-24.
CSU and Air Force Men: Mountain West in Tucson, Ariz., April 26-28.
UNC Men: Big Sky in Boulder City, Nev., April 26-28.
DU Men: Summit League in Newton, Kan., April 28-30.

NCAA REGIONAL SCHEDULE

Women: May 6-8, sites TBD (must earn selection).
Men: May 13-15, sites TBD (must earn selection).

Over the last 15 days, the junior has played 11 competitive rounds against some of the best women’s competition around. Eight came in the LPGA Q-Series, in which she finished tied for 45th, earning one of the final LPGA Tour cards available for 2019.

Then the two-time U.S. Women’s Open qualifier flew from Pinehurst, N.C., to Hawaii to compete for CU in the Nanea Pac-12 Preview, which started less than 48 hours after the eight-round Q-Series concluded.

Not only did Choi (left in an LPGA photo) make it in time, she finished fifth individually in the 60-player event, joining fellow Australian Kirsty Hodgkins in posting top-five showings on Wednesday.

Hodgkins’ third-place performance marked her second top-five in eight days and the seventh of her career. Hogdkins recorded rounds of 76-69-70 for a 4-under-par 215 total, which left her two strokes behind co-champions Yu-Sang Hou of Arizona and Tze-Han Lin of Oregon.

As for Choi, she’s finished no worse than sixth in her three fall college starts this season, going sixth, third and fifth. This week, she carded scores of 70-74-72 for a 3-under 216 total.

As a team, CU tied for third, accounting for its best team showing of the fall season, which concluded for the Buffs on Wednesday. Colorado finished with a three-day total of even-par 876, two strokes behind champion Arizona and tied with nationally top-ranked Southern California.

Dunkle Notches Another Top-Five Finish; CSU Fifth as Team: Elsewhere, 2018 CGA Amateur champion Kyler Dunkle of Utah posted a top-five finish on Wednesday at the Saint Mary’s Invitational in Pebble Beach, Calif., where Colorado State University placed fifth in the 18-team tournament.

Dunkle notched two wins in the fall college season, including one at the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational, and three top-five individual finishes in five fall events.

CSU recorded a stellar 5-under-par 279 — the second-best round on Wednesday — to check in at 853, 22 strokes behind team champion Southern California. Freshman Oscar Teiffel, who won the Paintbrush Invitational last month, placed 12th individually on Wednesday to lead the Rams.

Nanea Pac-12 Preview

Nov. 5-7, 2018 (final) in Kailua Kona, Hawaii
3. (out of 12 teams) Colorado 290-293-293–876
3. Kirsty Hodgkins 76-69-70–215
5. Robyn Choi 70-74-72–216
18. Haley Nist 70-76-74–220
31. Malak Bouraeda 74-74-77–225
53. Gillian Vance 76-81-78–235

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
 

Saint Mary’s Invitational
Nov. 5-7, 2018 (final) in Pebble Beach, Calif.
5. (out of 18 teams) Colorado State 284-290-279–853
12. Oscar Teiffel 69-72-70–211
15. Davis Bryant 72-72-68–212
30. AJ Ott 71-72-73–216
39. Jack Ainscough 72-76-70–218
56. Jake Staiano 78-74-71–223

Also
4. Former Coloradan Kyler Dunkle, Utah 71-68-69–208

For complete results, CLICK HERE.

Hodgkins, a junior from Australia, shot an even-par 72 on Tuesday and rallied to place fourth in the SMU Trinity Forest Invitational in Dallas.

Hodgkins (pictured in a CU photo) checked in at 2-over-par 218, ending up four strokes behind individual champion Ellie Slama of Oregon State. She now owns a win, a second, three fourths and a fifth-place finish in her college career.

Despite missing junior Robyn Choi, who’s competing at the LPGA Q-Series, CU placed a season-best fourth as a team on Tuesday. The Buffs ended up with a 32-over-par 896 total, which left them 24 strokes behind champion Illinois.

Freshman Kelsey Webster from Boulder made her collegiate debut while competing as an individual in Dallas. She tied for 49th place with a 234 total for three rounds.

SMU Trinity Forest Invitational
Oct. 29-30, 2018 (final) in Dallas
4. (out of 12 teams) Colorado 299-294-303–896
4. Kirsty Hodgkins 74-72-72–218
21. Haley Nist 76-73-76–225
29. Malak Bouraeda 74-74-79–227
24. Gillian Vance 75-75-76–226
64. Elle Otten 81-80-83–244
Competing Only as Individual
49. Kelsey Webster 79-75-80–234

For complete results, CLICK HERE.
   

It has a satisfying ring to it.

Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, the Women’s NCAA Division I individual champion from Wake Forest, has represented the U.S. in three major international team competitions in the last three months. And in those championships, the Americans went 3-0.

The victories in the Curtis Cup and the Arnold Palmer Cup were nice, but there were just two teams involved in each case. At this week’s Women’s World Amateur Team Championship, there were 57 teams competing.

And though it was the Americans’ 14th victory in the competition, it was their first in 20 years.

Now that’s satisfying.

“It was so exciting to win as a team!” Kupcho said in a text exchange with ColoradoGolf.org. “We worked so well together and truly fought for every stroke because we wanted to win so badly for each other.”

(The victorious U.S. team is pictured, from left, Kristen Gillman, Kupcho, Lilia Vu and captain Stasia Collins in a USGA photo.)

The only thing that would have made it better for Kupcho would have been winning the individual competition in Dublin, Ireland on Saturday. But after holding the outright lead on several occasions in the middle of the final round — including with four holes remaining — she had to settle for second place individually out of 170 players.

But given the way individual champion Ayean Cho of South Korea played down the stretch, that undoubtedly made coming up a little short easier to take. Cho struggled in a big way at the end of the front nine on Saturday, playing her final five holes of that side in 4 over par.

But Cho, the No. 18-ranked women’s amateur in the world, kicked it into high gear on the back nine, shooting a 5-under 31. She played her final eight holes in 5 under and her final four in 3 under. Even with Kupcho posting a 2-under 34 on the back nine — and a 4-under 69 for the day — she couldn’t keep pace down the stretch.

Cho ended up with a 3-under-par 70 to finish at 17-under-par 273. Kupcho, the top-ranked women’s amateur in the world, shared second place individually at 275 with Japan’s Yuka Yasuda. Kupcho posted five birdies and one bogey in the final round.

“Individually I struggled with a couple of bad shots and a missed 1 1/2-footer on the 17 so congratulations to Ayean,” Kupcho texted. “She’s a great player and it was fun to play with her all four days.”

But this is primarily a team event, and the U.S. put its best foot forward by fielding a squad which featured the top three-ranked women’s amateurs in the world — Kupcho, UCLA’s Lilia Vu and Alabama’s Kristen Gillman, who recently won her second U.S. Women’s Amateur title.

The Americans took the lead after the second round and expanded it on day 3 and day 4.

With a 29-under-par total, the U.S. ended up prevailing by 10 strokes over runner-up Japan and by 11 over defending champion South Korea.

With the top two scores each day counting toward the team total, the Americans shot a 10-under 136 on Saturday, with Gillman carding a 67 and Kupcho a 69. Vu closed with a 74.

All three of the U.S. players finished in the top 20 individually, with Kupcho second (275), Gillman fourth (278) and Vu 17th (288).

The last time the U.S. had won the team title in this event was in 1998, when Coloradan Barbara McIntire was the non-playing captain.

Meanwhile, University of Colorado golfer Kirsty Hodgkins shot a 71 on Saturday to finish in 92nd place at 303 for four days. Her Australian team placed 14th at 577.

Here are the scores for the U.S. team, including Coloradan Jennifer Kupcho, in addition to those of CU golfer Kirsty Hodgkins, who’s competing for her native Australia:

1. (out of 57 teams) USA 142-130-143-136–551
2. (out of 170 individuals) Jennifer Kupcho 70-65-71-69–275
4. Kristen Gillman 74-65-72-67–278
17. Lilia Vu 72-69-73-74–288

Also
92. CU golfer Kirsty Hodgkins, Australia 75-74-83-71–303

For all the results from the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship, CLICK HERE.

Before the new millennium, the Americans won the competition 13 times. But after capturing the title in 1998, when Coloradan Barbara McIntire was captain, the spigot has been closed.

Not once in the 21st century has the U.S. prevailed in this world championship.

But this year’s American squad, led by Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, might end the drought. Through Friday’s third round of the 72-hole event in Dublin, Ireland, the U.S. leads defending champion South Korea by five strokes.

With the American team featuring the top three-ranked women’s amateurs in the world — including Kupcho in the No. 1 slot — it’s played up to its billing so far. With the top two scores each day counting toward the team total, the U.S. shot a 1-under-par 143 on Friday, putting the Americans at 19-under 415 overall going into Saturday’s final round.

South Korea checks in at 420 and Japan at 421 in the 57-team event.

For the third straight day, Kupcho posted the low score for the U.S. — or at least tied for the low of the day. The NCAA Division I individual champion from Wake Forest remained in third place out of 170 players, rallying at the end of her round to stay three strokes behind the leader, Ayean Cho of South Korea. Second place Yuka Yasuda of Japan stands in second, two ahead of Kupcho.

After two rounds of going bogey-free, the Coloradan bogeyed her first two holes on Friday and was 3 over par for the day through six holes. But she righted the ship and finished with a flurry, playing her final seven holes in 4 under par. Her 1-under-par 71 put her at 11-under 206.

Teammate Kristen Gillman, the two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, is in fourth place at 211 after a 72 on Friday. And Lilia Vu is tied for sixth at 214 after a third-round 214.

(Team USA is pictured, from left: Vu, Gillman and Kupcho.)

Meanwhile, University of Colorado golfer Kirsty Hodgkins sits in 114th place individually as a third-round 83 left her at 232 for three days. Her Australian team shares 17th place at 438.

Play in the event will conclude on Saturday.

Here are the scores for the U.S. team, including Coloradan Jennifer Kupcho, in addition to those of CU golfer Kirsty Hodgkins, who’s competing for her native Australia:

1. (out of 57 teams) USA 142-130-143–415
3. (out of 170 individuals) Jennifer Kupcho 70-65-71–206
4. Kristen Gillman 74-65-72–211
6. Lilia Vu 72-69-73–214

Also
114. CU golfer Kirsty Hodgkins, Australia 75-74-83–232

For all the results from the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship, CLICK HERE.

Kupcho, the reigning Women’s NCAA Division I individual champion from Wake Forest, had her second straight bogey-free day on Thursday, making eight birdies. In an eight-hole stretch starting at No. 3, she made six birdies. That puts the No. 1-ranked women’s amateur in the world at 10-under 135 at the halfway point of the event.

In the 170-player individual competition, Kupcho trails only co-leaders Yuka Yasuda of Japan and Ayean Cho of South Korea, who sit at 132, three ahead of the Coloradan. Cho fired a 64 on Thursday and Yasuda a 67.

“I was hitting the ball really well and I actually made a quite a few putts but I left a few out there too,” Kupcho told the USGA. “So I need to work on my putting a little bit.”

In the team competition, the U.S. moved into a position befitting a team with the top three-ranked women’s amateurs in the world. With the top two scores each day from the three-person squad counting toward the team total, the Americans posted a stellar 16-under 130 total on Thursday, with two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Kristen Gillman matching Kupcho’s 65. Lilia Vu carded a 69.

(Team USA is pictured in a USGA photo, from left: Gillman, captain Stasia Collins, Kupcho and Vu.)

After two days, the U.S. stands at 18-under 272, a 36-hole record for this event and one stroke better than defending champion South Korea and three ahead of Japan. In all, 57 teams are competing in the tournament.

All three of the Americans are in the top 10 individually. With Kupcho in third, Gillman is in sixth place at 139, while Vu shares seventh at 141.

The U.S. finished sixth at the last biennial Women’s WATC, in 2016 as South Korea won. 

Meanwhile, University of Colorado golfer Kirsty Hodgkins sits in 66th place individually as a 74 left her at 149 for two days. Her Australian team shares 12th place at 289.

Play in the event will continue through Saturday.

Here are the scores for the U.S. team, including Coloradan Jennifer Kupcho, in addition to those of CU golfer Kirsty Hodgkins, who’s competing for her native Australia:

1. (out of 57 teams) USA 142-130–272
3. (out of 170 individuals) Jennifer Kupcho 70-65–135
6. Kristen Gillman 74-65–139
7. Lilia Vu 72-69–141

Also
T62. CU golfer Kirsty Hodgkins, Australia 75-74–149

For all the results from the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship, CLICK HERE.

The USGA announced last week that Kupcho will be one of three golfers who will represent the U.S. in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Dublin, Ireland Aug. 29-Sept. 1. The Women’s NCAA Division I individual champion from Wake Forest earned that automatic selection by virtue of being the top-ranked American player in the Women’s WAGR as of the July 25 update.

“Jennifer is a terrific young woman and golf talent who represented the United States at this year’s Curtis Cup Match,” said Stasia Collins, the American team captain for the WATC. “We couldn’t be prouder to have her as our ambassador in Ireland.”

It will be the third time in the last few months that Kupcho (left) will play for the U.S. in a major team competition. She helped American squads claim titles in both the Curtis Cup and the Arnold Palmer Cup. Kupcho is now No. 2 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings behind fellow American Lilia Vu.

The other two U.S. representatives for the U.S. Women’s World Amateur Team Championship will be determined after this week’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at The Golf Club of Tennessee in Kingston Springs. The tournament champion will be guaranteed a spot on the team.

The U.S. finished sixth at the last biennial Women’s WATC, in 2016 as South Korea won. The top two scores for each team each day will count toward the team total.

Another player with strong Colorado ties who will compete in the 2018 Women’s WATC will be University of Colorado golfer Kirsty Hodgkins, who will represent her native Australia.

In her college career at Wake Forest, Kupcho has earned individual titles in two consecutive Women’s NCAA Regionals — becoming only the second player to accomplish that feat — in addition to placing sixth as a freshman. And she’s finished sixth and second in the NCAA Finals.

And on Friday in Stillwater, Okla., the Coloradan (pictured Friday in a Wake Forest photo) certainly showed no signs of letting up.

Kupcho, competing in the final college tournament of her junior season, made a 30-foot eagle on the last hole of her opening round of the NCAA Finals and shot a cool 7-under-par 65 at Karsten Creek, tying the women’s course record. Twice she chipped in for birdies. This comes 10 days after Kupcho fired a personal-best 64 en route to her NCAA Regional victory in Tallahassee, Fla.

Her Friday effort left Kupcho with a three-stroke lead with three rounds of stroke play remaining in the NCAA Finals.

“I was kind of shooting for 2 under and it just kept going,” Kupcho told Golfweek. “I was like, ‘OK, here we go.'”

The 2018 U.S. Curtis Cup team member finished the day with an eagle, seven birdies and two bogeys.

Kupcho, who is attempting to become the first Colorado resident to win the Women’s NCAA Division I individual national golf title, is three in front of Janet Mao of Northwestern. And in third place, at 69, is Jillian Hollis of Georgia, who qualified in Colorado on Monday for the U.S. Women’s Open.

Kupcho, who sits No. 3 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings, owns six individual college wins, including three this season.

Last year, she led for the first 16 holes of the final round of the NCAA Finals and was up by two strokes with two holes to play. But a triple bogey on the 17th hole led to a runner-up finish.

Meanwhile, the University of Colorado, which is competing as a team in the Women’s NCAA Finals for the first time since 2012, shot an 18-over-par 306 in Friday’s first round. That left the Buffs in a tie for 13th place out of 24 teams, 15 strokes behind leader Southern California, also of the Pac-12 Conference. Likewise at 306 is Kupcho’s Wake Forest squad.

Sophomore Kirsty Hodgkins led the way for CU with a 2-over-par 74 after making birdies on her final two holes on Friday, which left her in 28th place individually. Sophomore Robyn Choi, who qualified in Colorado on Monday for her second straight U.S. Women’s Open, and senior Brittany Fan matched 75s for the Buffs.

The top eight team finishers after four rounds of stroke play will advance to the match play portion of the event, which starts Tuesday.

Women’s NCAA Division I Finals
May 18-21, 2018 in Stillwater, Okla.
13. (out of 24 teams) Colorado 306
28. Kirsty Hodgkins 74
35. Brittany Fan 75
35. Robyn Choi 75
111. Gillian Vance 82
111. Alisha Lau 82
Also
1. Coloradan Jennifer Kupcho, Wake Forest 65
68. Coloradan Hannah Wood, Oklahoma 77
 

The Buffs share second place out of 18 teams in the San Francisco Regional, and CU senior Brittany Fan (pictured) is tied for the individual lead following a bogey-free 6-under-par 66.

As a team, CU carded a 4-under-par 284 total, which left the Buffs four behind team leader UCLA and tied with Kent State. After 54 holes, the top six team finishers — and three individuals not on those teams — from each regional will advance to the NCAA Finals, set for May 18-23 in Stillwater, Okla.

Fan made an eagle and added four birdies on Monday at TPC Harding Park, putting her in a share of the top spot individually with Stanford’s Andrew Lee and UCLA’s Mariel Galdiano. CU sophomore Kirsty Hodgkins is tied for 10th place at 71.

Meanwhile, in the Tallahasse, Fla., Regional, the University of Denver holds 14th place out of 18 teams after round 1. The Pioneers shot a 9-over-par 297 and they trail leader Washington by 26 strokes.

Individually, Coloradan Jennifer Kupcho, a junior from Wake Forest who won an NCAA Regional title last year, opened with a 2-under-par 70. After a day that included four birdies and one double bogey, she trails individual leader Wenyung Keh of Washington by seven strokes.

The Regionals will continue through Wednesday.

Here are the scores for all the Colorado-based teams and local players competing this week:

Women’s NCAA Division I Regionals
May 7-9, 2018

At San Francisco
T2. (out of 18 teams) Colorado 284
T1. Brittany Fan 66
10. Kirsty Hodgkins 71
33. Robyn Choi 73
42. Gillian Vance 74
61. Alisha Lau 76

At Tallahassee, Fla.
14. (out of 18 teams) Denver 297
33. Lauren Whyte 73
42. Sophie Newlove 74
42. Mary Weinstein 74
61. Jessica Dreesbeimdieke 76
61. Camille Enright 76
Also
10. Coloradan Jennifer Kupcho, Wake Forest 70

At Austin, Texas
32. Katrina Prendergast, CSU 73
55. Coloradan Anna Kennedy, BYU 76
77. Coloradan Hannh Wood, Oklahoma 78
91. Ellen Secor, CSU 82
 

Sophomore Robyn Choi, who qualified in Colorado last year for the U.S. Women’s Open, tied for 11th place, while fellow Australian — and sophomore — Kirsty Hodgkins shared 20th place.

The stakes were high in the new event, as the winner earned invitations to two women’s majors — the ANA Inspiration and the Women’s British Open, plus next week’s HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore. Thailand’s 15-year-old Atthaya Thitikul, one of four players to finish the four-round event at 8-under-par 276, prevailed in a playoff to earn those berths.

Choi (pictured) ended up 10 strokes behind Thitikul after posting rounds of 72-75-69-70–286. Hodgkins went 71-75-70-73 for a 289 total.

Hodgkins is No. 40 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings, while Choi is No. 89.

Eighteen nations were represented at the inaugural Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific.

For all the scores, CLICK HERE.