PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL: The final round of the 23rd Annual NAIA Women's Golf National Championship was played under clear skies at PGA National on Friday. Tenth ranked Texas Wesleyan University finished 10th in the event after posting a final round score of 319.
High wind and rain plagued the tournament in its first three days of competition. Weather delays caused the tournament, which featured 30 teams and 161 individuals to be shortened from 72 holes to 54 holes.
The Lady Rams shot their best round of the tournament on Friday to finish in 10th place. In just the program's fifth year of existence, the Rams made their third consecutive appearance at the National Championship. They have never finished outside of the top-10 in the event.
The 10th place finish also extended the team's current streak to 17 consecutive top-10 finishes, dating back to a 12th place finish at Sam Houston State University's Bearkat Invitational on October 6, 2015.
Fellow Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) member, third ranked Oklahoma City University took home the team crown. The Stars shot an opening round 308 under very difficult conditions to take control of the tournament. After a final round 305, they finished at +17 for the tournament, topping Embry Riddle-AZ by eight strokes.
Top ranked Keiser University posted the low round of the tournament at 298 on Friday, but the Seahawks finished in fifth overall.
Indiana Tech University's Courtney Dye closed out with a round of -1 on the par 72 (6,013 yard) Squire Course at PGA National to snare the individual championship. Dye finished at +6 for the tournament, edging out Embry Riddle-AZ's Jessica Williams by a single shot.
Alex Schies led the Lady Rams. The three-time SAC Player of the Year, finished 16th after a final round 76.
Trudy Allen tied for 39th, six shots further back. Senior
Maisy Turner tied for 67th. Elena-Sinde Romero tied for 55th, and
Jacinda Chan finished in a tie for 74th.
This season, Texas Wesleyan posted seven top-5 finishes in nine tournaments. Their three runner-up finishes included the Sooner Athletic Conference Championship.
Ramblings
- In their fifth year of existence, the Lady Rams were making the program's third appearance in the National Championship. They placed 4th last season and 9th in 2015.
- This was the second consecutive year that the NAIA National Championship was shortened by rain. The Lady Rams placed 4th in a rain-shortened Championship last year when the field was only able to complete two rounds of play due to inclement weather.
- The program's best individual finish at the Championship was a tie for 11th last season by
Jacey Patton.
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Alex Schies, who is coming off a win at the SAC Championship, is the only player to play in all three National Championship appearances for the Rams.
Texas Wesleyan Scores
Fin. Player Scores
16 Alex Schies 77 81 76 234 +18
T39 Trudy Allen 80 80 80 240 +24
T55 Elena Sinde Romero 80 82 82 244 +28
T67 Maisy Turner 83 78 88 249 +33
T74 Jacinda Chan 87 84 81 252 +36
10 Texas Wesleyan 320 321 319 960 +96
