Throughout the United States, the women’s Regionals of the university golf league are being contested. Six tests that are held throughout the country and that give access to the culmination of the season, the Nationals. The five best universities from each test and the best-ranked individual player who is not on any of these five teams qualify for the title fight.
The first two days have already been played and only 18 holes remain to know the individual and team champions of this phase. The news that keeps coming from the other side of the Atlantic is almost unbeatable.
Three Spaniards are in the top 10 of their respective tests. Once again, Paula Martín Sampedro (-8) stands out, who is already the leader of her test at Tumble Creek (Washington). There are only two players who have played under par of the field in the two rounds played and the Madrilenian has repeated the more than solid four under par she achieved on the first day. The podium seems almost assured as she takes a six-stroke lead over the fourth-placed player, but the goal is undoubtedly to stay at the top. The top three in the standings are players from Stanford. The regional team title is practically theirs.
In that same scenario, Lucía López Ortega (+7) will try to recover positions on the third day to finish as high as possible. She is currently 31st after a second round of +5. The university where Lucía plays, San Jose State, is currently tied for fifth and with all options intact to move on to the final round.
Carla Bernat (-4) is the second Spanish player with clear chances of victory in the Regionals. The Valencian is currently sixth in Texas after handing in a card of 71 strokes. At the head of the tournament is none other than the World Number One, Ingrid Linnblad (-8). Carla is in an exceptional state of form and will fight in a few hours to dethrone the Swede.
For Bernat, her final position is crucial as her university did not qualify and she competes individually. To move on to the Nationals, Carla needs to be the best-ranked individual player who is not on any of the five universities that pass through the team qualification. At this moment, the Spaniard would not move on to the final phase as Virginie Ding (-3) is fourth and her university, Vanderbilt, is currently sixth and therefore out of the Nationals by teams. Everything can change. The best way to avoid taking out the calculator is a great final round.
In this same test, Carla Tejedo (+1) is T14 two strokes from the top 10. The Garcia-Poggio sisters, Blanca and Cata (+3) are tied in 22nd position. Texas A&M, the university of the Madrilenians is third in the team table with twelve strokes advantage over the sixth university. Their place in the fight for the championship does not seem to be in danger, but a good last round would not hurt to secure it.
At Bermuda Run Country Club two other Spaniards are playing: Julia López Ramírez (-4) and Carolina Lopez Chacarra (-2). The Malagueña has signed the third best card of the day, has moved up nine places in the table and has fully entered the top 10 of the tournament. The lead is six strokes from the head, but with Julia nothing is impossible, she is capable of flying very low when she needs it. For her part, Carol has lost some ground after a second round of 73 strokes, but she is only two strokes from the tenth position. The university of the Madrilenian, Wake Forest, leads the tournament and only a catastrophe would leave them out of the fight for the championship. Mississippi State of Julia López is third but only three strokes from the abyss of the sixth place. There could be a full Spanish sweep in the Nationals. Only 18 holes remain to find out.
In the rest of the scenarios, Lottie Woad stands out. The champion of the ANWA 2024 leads the Regional that is being held in Las Vegas. In addition, Anna Davis is just one stroke from the head in the Alabama tournament.
