BROOKSVILLE, Fla. – The SMU Mustangs paced the field for all three days, winning the American Athletic Conference Women’s Golf Championship for the first time, and winning the first team conference championship since 1992 after shooting a tournament record 25-under, 839 (276-289-274). SMU was led by individual champion, freshman Michelle Zhang, who set a tournament record with a 15-under, 201 (66-68-67).
The average score on the final round of the tournament was a three-day best 73.68 on the par-72, 6,289-yard course. Over the three-day, 54-hole course, teams held an average score of 73.95.
SMU shot their best round for the final round of play. After setting the single round record on day one, the Mustangs broke it again, shooting a 12-under, 276. For the three-day tournament, the Mustangs shot 25-under par, 839 (276-289-274). SMU became the first program to have back-to-back individual champions as freshman Michelle Zhang set a 54-hole championship record 15-under 201 (66-68-67) to win the individual honor. The Mustangs now have the most individual champions (3) among all schools.
UCF took over solo second place, shooting 6-under 282 for the final day of the tournament as the Knights improved their score each day, finishing with a score of 853 (287-284-282, -11). All four scorers for the Knights finished under-par for the round, while Jess Baker moved into third place on the individual leader board with a 6-under, 210 (70-71-69).
Tulsa took home third place honors, shooting a 283 (E) on the final day of play to finish the championship at 5-under 859 (281-290-288). Lovisa Gunnar tied for eighth place shooting 214 (71-73-70, -2) for the tournament.
Moa Svedenskiold led the Cougars to a fourth-place finish, shooting 2-under for the round and 8-under (70-68-70) for the three days to finish as the individual runner-up. As a team, Houston shot 2-under, 862 (284-288-290).
South Florida came in fifth place for the tournament, shooting even par 864 (284-297-283). Melanie Green finished 2-under for the final round of play and 5-under (67-74-70) for the tournament to finish in fourth place.
Other individuals rounding out the top 10 scoring are SMU’s Lauren Miller (72-73-67) and UCF’s Anna Nordfors (71-68-73) who both shot 4-under 212 to tie for fifth place, UCF’s Tunrada Piddon (73-70-70) finished at 3-under for seventh place, while SMU’s Ellie Szeryk (71-74-69) and SMU’s Ashley Chow (68-75-71) finished at 2-under, 214 for eighth place.
2023 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE WOMEN’S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
Final Team Standings
1. SMU 839* (276-289-274, -25)
2. UCF 853 (287-284-282, -11)
3. Tulsa 859 (281-290-288, -5)
4. Houston 862 (284-288-290, -2)
5. South Florida 864 (284-297-283, -E)
6. East Carolina 884 (296-287-301, +20)
7. Tulane 887 (301-301-285, +23)
8. Memphis 903 (304-302-297, +39)
9. Cincinnati 905 (302-299, 304, +41)
10. Wichita State 910 (303-297-310, +46)
*
American Athletic Conference Championship Record
Top-10 Individual Standings
1. Michelle Zhang, SMU – *201 (66-68-67, -15)
2. Moa Svedenskiold, Houston – 208 (70-68-70, -8)
3. Jess Baker, UCF – 210 (70-71-69, -6)
4. Melanie Green, South Florida – 211 (67-74-70, -5)
t-5. Lauren Miller, SMU – 212 (72-73-67, -4)
t-5. Anna Nordfors, UCF – 212 (71-68-73, -4)
7. Tunrada Piddon, UCF – 213 (73-70-70, -3)
t-8. Ellie Szeryk, SMU – 214 (71-74-69, -2)
t-8. Lovisa Gunnar, Tulsa – 214 (71-73-70, -2)
t-8. Ashley Chow, SMU – 214 (68-75-71, -2)
*
American Athletic Conference Championship Record