The South Dakota women's golf team completed the fall season by capturing a team title at the Ozarks National Invitational. The team began the final day of action in third place and nine strokes off the lead. It came down to the final hole of the day and South Dakota managed to pick up its first tournament win of the season by one stroke. The Coyotes shot a 299 in the last round and recorded a 54-hole total of 905 in the three days. The 905 team score tied for the third-best 54-hole score in team history.
Individually for the Coyotes,
Akari Hayashi shot up to the top of the leaderboard near the end of the round. She recorded a par on the last hole, placing her in a three-way tie for first place. Without a playoff to settle the tie, the tiebreaker came down to the scorecard and how each of the three finished on the final nine holes. Hayashi ended up in second place after the tiebreaker with a two-over par tournament. She tied a career-best round with a two-under par 70 in the third round. Her last round came with no errors on her card, picking up two birdies on the seventh and eighth hole and pars the remainder of the way. Hayashi's two birdies in the final round added to her total of 10 throughout the tournament, good for second-best among all players. She also led the field with the best scoring average on par-three holes (-2) and on par-five holes (-1). Hayashi's 54-hole score of 218 (77-71-70) is a new career-best for the junior.
Danica Badura joined Hayashi in the top-10 with a tie for ninth place finish individually. She carded a five-over par 77 in the final round with two birdies on the day. Her five total birdies during the week were tied for 10th-best among all players and was also tied for 10th-best in par-four scoring average (+2). Badura's three-round total of 227 (74-76-77) was two strokes off a season-best for the Aurora, Nebraska, native.
Emma Henningsson jumped up 16 spots in the final round after a two-over par 74 on Wednesday. She sank two birdies on the back nine and finished with three total this week. She also finished tied for 10th-most pars scored with 23 throughout the tournament. Henningsson's three-round total of 231 (78-79-74) earned her a tie for 23rd place individually.
Catie Nekola scored a six-over par 78 in the third round at Ozarks National Golf Club. Her one birdie of the day came on the par-four 14th hole and had five total birdies this week. Nekola tied with Hayashi for the best scoring average on par-five holes with a two-under par average. Her 233 three-round total (75-80-78) placed her in a tie for 30th place.
Molly Fossen recorded an 82 in the final round on Wednesday. Her lone birdie on the day came on the par-three eighth hole and added to her total of five this week. Fossen's total score of 236 (77-77-82) earned her a tie for 39th place.
Alexa Wingnean ended her first tournament with an 80 in the third round. Her two birdies of the day came on the back nine and had four total during the tournament. She also finished tied for fourth-best scoring average on par-five holes with an even-par score. Wingnean's three-day score of 236 (82-74-80) placed her in a tie for 39th place individually.
As a team, the Coyotes finished with the third-best scoring average on par-three holes with an 11-over average and finished with the fourth-most birdies during the tournament with 22 birdies. South Dakota will take a couple of months off before getting back into action in early February. The spring season begins at the Tulane Classic in New Orleans on Feb. 12.
