Gamecocks steamroll regional field, prepare for shot at NCAA women’s golf title
“Leave No Doubt” is often the manta for high-powered teams at tournament time. South Carolina did just that in the NCAA women’s golf Charlottesville, Virginia regional.
The Gamecocks, No. 4 in the national poll and the top seed in the regional, blitzed the field and captured a berth in the NCAA Championship that begins May 16 in Carlsbad, California.
The Gamecocks dominated this way: Three players tied for fourth individually, another joined the top-10 party and the lowest shared 13th.
“A very impressive team,” said Dan Brooks, who has guided Duke to seven national titles and lost to the Gamecocks in four tournaments this season.
In Charlottesville, Carolina topped second-place finisher Ole Miss (ranked 16) by 11 strokes and third-place Virginia (ranked 11) by 13.
The Gamecocks’ “Big Three” — seniors Louise Rydqvist and Hannah Darling and freshman Eila Galitsky — shared fourth place in the individual standings. Graduate student Sophia Burnett finished ninth and sophomore Maylis Lamoure tied for 13th.
In the women’s world amateur golf rankings, Rydqvist is eighth, Galitsky 17th and Darling 18th.
The strong performance followed Carolina’s domination in winning the SEC Championship in April and gave the Gamecocks their sixth regional title in 18 seasons under coach Kalen Anderson.
USC will be making its fifth-straight trip, and 14th under Anderson, to the NCAA Championship that features four rounds of stroke play with the top eight teams advancing to match play to compete for the title.
Thirty teams, led by season-long No. 1 Stanford, earned spots in the national tournament. LSU is the only team ranked in the top 10 that failed to advance.
Furman’s Audrey Ryu earned a spot in the nationals in the individual competition. She posted the low score from teams that failed to advance in the Norman, Oklahoma regional. The Furman team placed ninth in Norman.
In Charlottesville, College of Charleston took 12th. Playing as individuals, Clemson’s Isabella Rawl finished 39th and Melena Barrientos 47th.
Busy time for USC men’s senior
USC men’s golf senior Nathan Franks faces a hectic few days, competing in his first PGA Tour tournament, the ONEFLIGHT Myrtle Beach Classic that ends Sunday, and joining his teammates for the NCAA Regional in Bremerton, Washington that starts Monday.
Ranked 24th in the PGA Tour’s University Rankings, Franks qualified for the pro tournament in The Q, a competition that features eight aspiring golf pros and eight golf content creators.
His 3-under-par 68 at the TPC Myrtle Beach included a pair of chip-in eagles. In his most recent college tourney, he tied for 13th in the SEC Championship.
The Gamecocks, ranked 20th nationally, are seeded fourth in the 54-hole regional that ends Wednesday. The top five finishers in each of six regionals advance to the NCAA Championship in Carlsbad, California.
In their first season under coach Rob Bradley, USC tied for one tournament title and placed fifth of better in eight of their 10th starts. Franks, juniors Frankie Harris and Zach Adams and sophomore Brock Blais have been mainstays in Bradley’s lineup. Individually, Harris has three top-five finishes, Franks has a pair and Adams and Blais have one each.
Chip shots
Bryson Nimmer, a three-time All-American at Clemson, won his first Korn Ferry Tour event at the Tulum Championship in Maya, Mexico. He jumped to 16th in the season-long points standings, moving in position to be among the top 20 who earn PGA Tour cards for next year. ... The Myrtle Beach tournament features the father-son duo of former Clemson All-American Jonathan Byrd and future Tiger Jackson Byrd, the No. 2 player in the American Junior Golf Association national rankings.
This story was originally published May 8, 2025 at 8:12 AM with the headline "Gamecocks steamroll regional field, prepare for shot at NCAA women’s golf title."