Women's Golf | 5/10/2023 10:35:00 PM
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The North Carolina A&T women's golf team had its 2022-23 conclude with a sixth-place finish at the PGA Works Collegiate Championship played at the par-71, 5,772-yard Bent Book Golf Course on Wednesday. The 2022-23 season marks the first time the women's program failed to win a tournament since the 2016-17 season, the program's first season of existence.
But the Aggies have a young team to build on as their head coach, Richard Watkins, coached his final tournament with them after announcing his retirement earlier this season. In their final tournament of the season, the Aggies shot a 95-over 951. They shot a final-round 27-over 311 but finished behind tournament-winner Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
Corpus Christi won the tournament by shooting a three-round 12-over 868, aided by shooting a 5-under 279 on Wednesday. Delaware State finished 30 shots off the lead with an 898, finishing one stroke ahead of the Howard Bison, who shot a 43-over 899. Texas A&M-Kingsville and Tennessee State finished in a fourth-place tie in the 11-team tournament by shooting an 82-over 938.
Freshman Victoria Stutts had her best round of the tournament by shooting a 4-over 75. Stutts shot a 54-hole 15-over 229 to finish in a tie for 14th. The Corpus Christi trio of Lucie Charbonnier, Lucia Ramirez and Maria Beltran finished 1, 2, 3, respectively. Charbonnier took medalist honors by shooting a 1-under 213. She won the tournament despite shooting a 78 in the second round.
Ramirez finished two shots off the lead at 1-over 215, two shots ahead of Beltran at 3-over 217. Howard's Kendall Jackson (219) and Delaware State's Amber Pennington (220) rounded out the top-5.
Stutts' final round of the season started with a par, bogey, and another par before birdieing the par-4, 292-yard fourth. She struggled over the next three holes by shooting 4-over before steadying herself to card two straight pars to end the front nine at 4-over. Stutts started the back nine with a bogey before birdieing the par-5, 444-yard 11th. She had another bogey on 12 but went birdie, birdie on the par-5 464-yard 16th and the par-4 302-yard 17th to bring her round to 3-over before a bogey on the 18th.
Aggies Kiaira Porter and Jayla Rogers finished in a three-way tie for 30th by shooting a 28-over 242. Porter posted a third-round 7-over 79 that included two birdies. She carded a two on the par-3 162-yard 12th and a four on the par-5 464-yard 16th. Rogers also had two birdies, including the 12th. She also birdied the par-3, 149-yard 14th.
Two more Aggies competed on Wednesday as Vileska Gelpi posted two birdies to shoot an 83. Gelpi shot a 243 for the tournament to finish in a three-way tie for 35th. Kennedi Lee shot a 250 for the tournament.
