No. 3 Gamecocks Win Playoff to Advance at Grayhawk

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — No. 3 South Carolina punched its ticket in dramatic fashion to the fourth round of the NCAA Championship Monday evening at Grayhawk Golf Club as the sun was setting. The Gamecocks defeated No. 4 Wake Forest by one shot in a playoff for the final spot in the top-15.
 
“From hole one to our last playoff hole, I’m very proud of how the team competed today,” said head coach Kalen Anderson. “We have a window of opportunity to make match play, but we will need an exceptional day in the medal round. This group will be up for the challenge, and we look forward to tomorrow.”
 
It was a five-player playoff as players from Carolina and Wake went off simultaneously on holes 14 through 18 after the completion of the third round. Cumulative scores were tallied and the Gamecocks advanced thanks to a birdie by Louise Rydqvist at the difficult par-4 15^th. The Demon Deacons made double on that hole.
 
Carolina got into the playoff after posting its best score of the tournament so far at 297 (+9). The Gamecocks got even par rounds from Rydqvist and junior Mathilde Claisse. Rydqvist had three birdies and was even on both sides. Claisse made the turn bogey free after turning in a 33 (-3) on the back nine. She was hurt only by a trio of bogeys in holes five through eight. Claisse just missed a birdie putt at the par-5 seventh that sat right on the edge of the hole.
 
Graduate transfer Tai Anudit shot 75 (+3). She had birdie putts on her final three holes but was unable to convert. Junior Justine Fournand shot 78 (+6) and was the final counting score. She played a solid round but had a pair of tough double bogeys at holes one and five. Sophomore Paula Kirner was subbed in for standout freshman Hannah Darling and shot 84 (+12). Darling returned to action for the playoff and made par on hole 18 to tie with Wake Forest’s Carolina Chacarra.
 
The Gamecocks will be paired with No. 8 Virginia and No. 13 Texas for Monday’s medal round. Carolina will be in the first wave of tee times off at hole one. Darling will start things at 1 p.m. (ET) for the Garnet and Black. Carolina has ground to makeup and is 15 shots off the pace for the top-eight and match play.
 
In 11 NCAA Championship appearances under Anderson, the Gamecocks have now advanced to the medal round (top-15) seven times. Carolina will be seeking its second match play appearance in program history.
 
Live scoring will be available again via Golfstat.
 
2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship R3 Leaderboard
1. No. 1 Stanford – 864 (E)
2. No. 2 Oregon – 873 (+9)
3. No. 15 Texas A&M – 877 (+13)
4. No. 10 UCLA – 878 (+14)
5. No. 19 Auburn – 885 (+21)
6. No. 16 Florida State – 887 (+23)
T7. No. 14 LSU – 888 (+24)
T7. No. 5 San Jose State – 888 (+24)
T9. No. 12 Southern Cal – 892 (+28)
T9. No. 28 Georgia – 892 (+28)
11. No. 48 Purdue – 893 (+29)
12. No. 7 Arizona State – 894 (+30)
T13. No. 13 Texas – 901 (+37)
T13. No. 8 Virginia – 901 (+37)
15. No. 3 South Carolina – 903 (+39)*
— top-15 advance to fourth round of NCAA Championship —
16. No. 4 Wake Forest – 903 (+39)
17. No. 34 Mississippi State – 905 (+41)
18. No. 17 Baylor – 906 (+42)
19. No. 6 Oklahoma State – 907 (+43)
20. No. 18 Michigan – 911 (+47)
21. No. 33 TCU – 912 (+48)
T22. No. 35 Vanderbilt – 913 (+49)
T22. No. 20 Arkansas – 913 (+49)
24. No. 9 Alabama – 916 (+52)
 
*Advanced in playoff defeating Wake Forest  
Hole 14: Fournand – 5 WF – 4
Hole 15: Rydqvist – 3 WF – 6
Hole 16: Anudit – 5 WF – 4
Hole 17: Claisse – 4 WF – 4
Hole 18: Darling – 5 WF – 5
Total: SC – 22 WF – 23
 
2022 NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship R3 Gamecock Leaderboard
T48. Mathilde Claisse – 152 (+8)
T52. Tai Anudit – 150 (+6)
T81. Louise Rydqvist – 157 (+13)
T100. Justine Fournand – 154 (+10)
N/A SUB. Hannah Darling – 75 (+3) in R1, 78 (+6) in R2
N/A SUB. Paula Kirner – 84 (+12) in R3  
 
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