The Texas Women’s golf team recorded their worst finish of the season, placing fifth at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The Longhorns finished 36 shots over-par, a whole 33 strokes behind winner Wake Forest.
“It was a tough week for us here in South Carolina,” head coach Ryan Murphy told texassports.com. “Long Cove is a Pete Dye golf course that holds you accountable in every facet of the game. It is truly a test, and whatever your weakness is, it likely will be revealed here.”
Of the 17 teams in the field, zero finished with a team score under-par and only one golfer, Emilia Migliaccio, did so individually with a one under-par total.
Sophomore Hailee Cooper led the Longhorns with her first top-ten finish of the season, coming in at seven shots over-par. Cooper was named to the 2019 WGCA First Team All-America after winning two tournaments last season, though she has struggled for most of this year. After not playing in the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge, Cooper has finished 15th and 10th in her last outings.
Freshman Sophie Guo, who has seemed impervious to bad play all season, recorded her worst collegiate finish in Hilton Head. Guo’s opening round of 80 was by far the worst of her season and finished the tournament at 15-over-par. Tying for 50th, it was Guo’s lowest finish of the year and comes after a top-five finish at last week’s Icon Invitational.
Agathe Laisne recorded her career first hole-in-one on the 140-yard par-three in Friday’s opening round en route to one-under par performance. Laisne would eventually finish tied for 23rd, nine shots over-par after a final round 78.
After missing the Icon Invitational, junior Kaityln Papp tied for 29th after finishing 10 shots over-par, and senior Emilee Hoffman tied for 53rd with a 16-over par total.
The country’s number one team has not looked the part over the past month, finishing third, fourth and fifth in its last three tournaments. The Longhorns’ struggle this spring is mystifying considering Texas entered it riding a three-tournament win streak.
“The team is not happy at the moment, but we are planning to tighten things up and get into our best form for April and May,” Murphy said.
Two collegiate tournaments remain for Texas before the start of the Big 12 Championships at the end of April. The Longhorns will compete in the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic from March 20-22 and then finish the regular season a week later at the Bruzzy Challenge.
Competing in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur from April 1-4, Cooper and Hoffman will miss the Bruzzy Challenge where Cooper won the individual tournament last year.
