In dramatic fashion, Texas came from behind after a slow start in the first round to win the Big 12 Championship for the second year in a row. Three individual top-10 finishes propelled the Longhorns to first place, eight strokes ahead of Baylor and Oklahoma State.
 
“It’s special,” Texas head coach Ryan Murphy said. “It was not going to be easy. We’ve got a good golf conference. Right now, it means we’re the best team in our conference, and it feels good.”
 
Sophomore Emilee Hoffman finished second individually for the second year in a row. She started the final round at the top of the leaderboard, but two double bogeys on the front nine opened the door for the eventual individual champion, Iowa State’s Celia Barquin Arozamena.
 
“I’ve been working really hard and I got second here as well last year, and it’s nice to finish second again,” Hoffman said. “Obviously, I had a chance to win, and I would’ve liked to win, but I’m just going to keep working hard, keep doing everything I can, and hopefully I’ll come out on top.”
 
The Longhorns’ win was also highlighted by freshman Kaitlyn Papp’s tie for fourth place, and senior Sophia Schubert’s tie for eighth place.
 
The tournament marked Papp’s seventh top-10 in a row, an incredible feat for any freshman golfer in the NCAA. Schubert has finished in the top-10 in every one of her starts this season, and her play this week kept that trend alive.
 
In two weeks, the Longhorns will compete in the NCAA Regional Championship with home course advantage. The tournament will be played at the UT Golf Club, the same venue as the Betsy Rawls Invitational, which the Longhorns won earlier this season by 15 strokes. Schubert also won individually that week.
 
With home course advantage, good form and confidence from the win this week, Texas looks to make another strong appearance in the next leg of the NCAA postseason.