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May 1, 2024
By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org
LAKE ELMO, Minn. – Entering Wednesday’s final round of the 2021 ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M with a five-stroke advantage, Ole Miss golfer Julia Johnson bounced back from a double-bogey on her opening hole at Royal Golf Club, carding a 2-under 70 to claim medalist honors by one stroke, holding off a surging Hannah Darling.
A late birdie helped the fifth-year senior to her fourth collegiate win Wednesday, while the University of South Carolina posted a final-round team tally of 284 to earn a seven-stroke, wire-to-wire victory for its first win at the event since the tournament’s inception in 2014.
“This is really special. I was so consistent and so steady last season and finished runner-up a number of times, but just missed the mark,” Johnson said Wednesday. “It can get you down a little bit, so to win this as the first tournament of the year is a great stepping stone and I’m really excited to get the year going.
“Staying patient [was key], especially today because I missed so many putts. It’s really easy to start mis-hitting your golf shots when you’re missing putts. For me, to keep hitting my driver really well; to keep hitting my irons really well—I was still very steady and consistent.”
Prior to helping Ole Miss to the 2021 NCAA National Championship this spring, the Rebels’ first women’s team title in school history, Johnson claimed five top-5 finishes, including three runner-up finishes, making her decision to opt for a fifth year an easy one.
“I still feel like I have unfinished business,” Johnson said, “I’d love to be the ANNIKA Player of the Year, love to be the SEC Player of the Year and winning another national championship would be really special. College golf is really special and you don’t get it for that long. You can be a pro for the rest of your life, so it was an easy decision for me and it’s working out well so far.
Carding back-to-back rounds of 67 during the first two days of competition this week, Johnson’s lead quickly shrunk when she carded double-bogey at the 10th, her first hole of the final round Wednesday, but the St. Gabriel, La., native rebounded by carding a pair of birdies over the next to holes to draw even for the round.
Johnson drove the 290-yard 15th hole, narrowly missing her eagle putt from 10 feet, but tapped in for birdie to get to 11-under for the championship. Getting up-and-down from a greenside bunker at the 18th put Johnson to the final nine holes at 12-under, but a bad bounce led to a bogey at the first.
A steady Johnson carded six consecutive pars during her back nine before sinking a critical birdie putt at the par-4 eighth hole to take a two-stroke lead over Darling. A two-putt par at the last proved to be enough despite a Darling birdie, as Johnson claimed her first collegiate win since her junior season.
“The mindset was to keep the pedal down and I came out of the gate with a double, but I ended up bouncing back really well after that,” she said. “I really didn’t have many putts fall today, which was the only difference from the past few days.”
South Carolina opened the championship with a team score of 278 Monday to take a seven-stroke lead and never relented, earning the wire-to-wire victory by seven strokes over Duke University for the program’s first win since March at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic.
“It was a really good way to get out of the gate and I’m really impressed by their fight,” South Carolina head coach and Edina, Minn., native Kalen Anderson said Wednesday. “The first event, you’re getting your feet wet and seeing where everybody stands, but it’s nice to get off to a fast start with a win.
“There’s plenty of things to build off of and plenty still to do. Obviously, a very loaded field and I’m very proud of how they played. Hannah played exceptionally well, but I’m really happy with what I saw from the other four.
Darling, making her collegiate debut this week, opened with a 66 Monday to take a one-stroke lead before carding a round of even par to sit five back of Johnson’s lead following Tuesday’s second round.
Carding three early birdies, Darling quickly cut into Johnson’s lead before a bogey at the sixth. The Scotland native carded three more birdies during her final nine, include one at the 18th, to finish one back of Johnson at 11-under 205.
The University of Minnesota posted a team score of 300 Wednesday to finish in 12th place at 902. The Gophers were led by graduate students Geraldine Wong, who carded a final-round 71 Wednesday to place tied for 28th at 220, while Joanne Free finished tied for 37th at 223.
Next on tap for the Gophers is a trip to Vail, Colo., to compete in the Golfweek Challenge Sept. 27-29.
THE 2021 ANNIKA INTERCOLLEGIATE PRESENTED BY 3M
ROYAL GOLF CLUB
LAKE ELMO, MINN.
6,410 YARDS, PAR 72
WEDNESDAY’S FINAL TEAM RESULTS
1. South Carolina, 278-288-284—850
2. Duke, 285-288-284—857
3. Wake Forest, 286-286-287—859
4. Alabama, 291-284-288—863
5. Texas, 291-291-282—864
6. Arizona, 292-291-283—866
7. Southern California, 287-297-283—867
8. Arizona State, 287-300-282—869
9. Ole Miss, 290-295-286—871
10. UCLA, 287-298-297—882
11. LSU, 297-293-295—885
12. MINNESOTA, 305-297-300—902
WEDNESDAY’S FINAL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
1. Julia Johnson, Ole Miss, 67-67-70—204
2. Hannah Darling, South Carolina, 66-73-66—205
3. Cindy Kou, Southern California, 68-73-67—208
4. Erica Shepherd, Duke, 68-72-70—210
T5. Mimi Rhodes, Wake Forest, 71-70-70—211
T5. Gina Kim, Duke, 70-70-71—211
7. YuSang Hou, Arizona, 68-74-70—212
T8. Lauren Walsh, Wake Forest, 69-73-71—213
T8. Polly Mack, 74-67-72—213
T10. Bohyun Park, Texas, 73-73-68—214
T10. Ingrid Lindblad, LSU, 72-73-69—214
T10. Anne Chen, Duke, 72-73-69—214
T28. GERALDINE WONG, MINNESOTA, 73-76-71—220
T37. JOANNE FREE, MINNESOTA, 76-70-77—223
55. EMMA CARPENTER, MINNESOTA, 77-74-81—232
56. GRACE CURRAN, MINNESOTA, 79-78-76—233
57. LEAH HERZOG, MINNESOTA, 81-77-76—234
For complete tournament results go to: http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=23847
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