The Texas women’s golf team was able to do what every Longhorn sports team tries to do. Win a sporting event in Norman, Oklahoma.
In dominant fashion, the team lapped the rest of the field on Wednesday afternoon, finishing one under for the day and nine under par for the tournament. The next closest team finished nine strokes behind Texas, allowing the team to easily punch its ticket to the NCAA National Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
“Well, it was a great day today, and it was a great day yesterday that we had. It’s obviously what propelled us,” Texas head coach Ryan Murphy said. “This team’s excited to get to nationals. It’s nice to win in Norman, Oklahoma, too.”
Texas has been remarkably successful already this season, having won four tournaments coming into the Regional Tournament. For the first time in the program’s history, the Longhorns were able to pick up a victory at the Regional.
“I didn’t realize that we hadn’t won a regional so that’s pretty cool,” Murphy said. “All that stuff I think adds up in our belief and confidence. It can only help us. This is the second time we’ve won against a really good field. All the doubts in their mind should be gone.”
While no Longhorn won the individual portion of the tournament, sophomore Agathe Laisne came close, finishing tied for third in a very talented field. The rest of the team also played well, which resulted in the victory.
“Individually, Agathe played great again and had a chance to win,” Murphy said. “I’m happy she made that birdie on the last hole. Great tournament by (Kaitlyn) Papp as usual. Collectively, if you look at our scores, we’re just consistently good top to bottom.”
The team is loaded with star power heading into the National Championships. Laisne was named the Big 12 Player of the Month for April, while Papp recently qualified for the 2019 U.S. Open. Both also played in the inaugural Augusta Women’s Amateur.
If the Longhorns are to win the National Championship next week, it will take the entire team playing as well as it possibly can. Like every other win this season in which the team was able to rely on the entire starting five, Fayetteville will present similar challenges.
“I feel like our depth has really created an environment where we can challenge one another,” Papp said. “Each week we are all playing well, so we all help each other grow in one way.”
