Where one journey begins, another concludes. Texas wrapped up its last regular season tournament at the same course the PGA Tour started its season this year — the Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California. The Longhorns finished in seventh place with a three-round total of 874.
Freshman Kaitlyn Papp ended her already stellar season with another top-10 finish — a tie for ninth place individually at 1 under par. The performance marked her sixth top 10 finish in a row and her seventh this season, including two wins.
“Kaitlyn is playing some terrific golf,” Texas head coach Ryan Murphy said. “She is just so solid, with all parts of her game shored up. Five rounds this season without a bogey … I’ve never heard of any freshman doing that — ever.”
Senior Sophia Schubert, who returned from a wrist surgery, finished at 3 under par and in fifth place. Schubert has finished in the top 10 in each of her starts this season, including a win at the Betsy Rawls Invitational in the fall.
“It was another fine week for Sophia,” Murphy said. “Since the start of 2018, she has been building. Each week she has gotten stronger (and) sharper, and she is gaining confidence with each competitive round.”
Sophomore Emilee Hoffman finished in a tie for 28th with a total of 221. Freshman Agathe Laisne and junior Maddie Luitwieler tied for 58th, each with a total score of 228. Sophomore Greta Voelker, who competed only as an individual this week, finished in a tie for 52nd with a total of 227.
The Longhorns’ performance on Tuesday was enough to lock up another top 10 finish, but they still have some work to do before the postseason begins if they want to be competitive.
“Teamwise, we were in a good position starting (Tuesday) but just didn’t get it going,” Murphy said. “Four over par is not a bad team score on that golf course, but obviously we’ll need more if we want to compete against a few of those teams. We are capable. The next seven days for us will be about getting things tightened up and showing our best golf at the end of this season.”
Texas has an advantage with the Big 12 Championship staged in Dallas this year, and an even bigger advantage if the Longhorns advance to the NCAA Regional Championship, which will be played at the University of Texas Golf Club, the team’s home course.
