SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – It took a playoff at the NCAA Louisville Regional to get top-ranked South Carolina to the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2017. The Gamecocks promptly dug themselves another hole early on at Grayhawk, coming in dead last out of 24 teams after the first round. They’ve been ranked No. 1 by the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking since early March.
Lois Kaye Go opened the championship with an 87 that included a nine and three double-bogeys. This is a senior who owns the second-lowest scoring average in school history 72.80.
Head coach Kalen Anderson pulled Go out of the lineup in Round 2 and replaced her with senior Pimnipa Panthong, a Kent State transfer and two-time MAC Golfer of the Year. Panthong shot 90 with a triple and a quad. As a team though, the Gamecocks cut 24 strokes off their opening round and moved into a share of 14th with Michigan. The top 15 advanced after three rounds and there was much work to be done.
Anderson had multiple team meetings. Saturday afternoon’s message was firm. Sunday’s morning message was much softer, more loving.
South Carolina won four times during the regular season and only recently started to take a dip. The team got wrapped up in outside distractions, Anderson said. She reminded them of the sacrifices they’ve made during the pandemic. Told them they’ve come too far to miss the mark now.
“This is an unbelievable group, an unbelievable group of talent,” said Anderson. “They know what to do. Sometimes they just need to just be guided in the right direction. Sometimes we have so much talent that everybody gets going in a little bit different direction, and we just have to herd them into the right one.”
Anderson was pleased with their upbeat mood Sunday morning. She put Go back in the lineup and she delivered, posting a 73 to help South Carolina move into 12th.
“I think I just felt more relaxed,” said Go, who hails from the Philippines. “After I’d say a horrific round, it’s like, kind of hard to, how do you say it? Make things worse.”
Pauline Roussin-Bouchard led the Gamecocks with a 69 and Mathilde Claisse added a 72 to help a team total of 1-under 287. Now that they’ve survived the first cut, South Carolina looks toward the next one. After 72 holes, the field will be cut to eight.
Their 23 over total puts them six shots back of eighth place, held by Florida State. Four teams sit within six shots of the top eight – Arizona, Oregon, LSU And South Carolina.
Since the women’s NCAA Championship moved to match play in 2015, the Gamecocks have only advanced to the top 8 once in 2016, when they lost in the first round.
“They battled, “said Anderson. “I’d say right now we’re not playing our best golf. We’re still a great team and we just need to fight through it.”
Top 15 teams advancing
1. Stanford -18
2. Duke +2
3. Oklahoma State +4
4. Texas +6
5. Ole Miss +11
6. Arizona State +13
7. Wake Forest +16
8. Florida State +17
9. Arizona +18
10. Oregon +19
11. LSU +20
12. South Carolina +23
13. Baylor +27
14. Auburn +28
15. UCLA +31
Missed cut
Michigan State +34
Kent State +35
Georgia +38
Kentucky +38
Michigan +39
Virginia Tech +42
Maryland +42
USC +43
Alabama +52