As in the late 80s donut advertisement, when the famous industrial bakery brand launched the package where two buns came instead of one. “They gave me two,” said the protagonists of the spots. Well, that’s it, two for Spain. Two victories in the NCAA. A night of success for our young women’s golf. We were hopeful beforehand, and the harvest has not disappointed. Individual triumphs for Carla Bernat and Paula Martín and a second place for Casilda Allendesalazar.
Carla Bernat’s victory, a golfer from Castellón, was extraordinary. She dominated the Mountain View Collegiate, a tournament held at The Preserve at Saddlebrooke in Tucson, Arizona. She started the final round this Tuesday with a four-shot lead and ended up winning by nine strokes over Audrey Rischer and Camille Min-Gaultier. A colossal performance concluded with an impressive scorecard of 67 strokes, which included five birdies and no mistakes. Under control. Steel golf.
Bernat had no rival to claim the seventh victory of her NCAA career and the second of this season. The Kansas State golfer, who also won the team event, already won the first tournament of the fall season, after the summer holidays. Additionally, she has another second place, two top 5s, and one more top 10. Her worst result in eight tournaments played in the 24/25 season is a 19th place. Sensational. Warming up for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, which is played in just a month. Also noteworthy is the top 10 of Mar García, an Andalusian player from the University of Cincinnati.
Speaking of Augusta, another who will be at the amateur women’s major is Paula Martín, who will also arrive with at least one recent victory in her bag. The Madrid native made a comeback today in the final round of the Juli Inkster at Meadow Club Invitational to tie for first place with Karen Tsuru and Jasmine Koo. In the NCAA, there is no playoff to resolve individual victories; instead, all three are considered winners.
Paula staged a fantastic comeback in the final round, as she started three shots off the lead. She did it with a very good round of 66 strokes, her best scorecard of the week. Her golf was immaculate. She gave an exhibition of control and precision. She signed four birdies and an eagle without a mistake. Right from the start, she laid her cards on the table with a three-under-par score in the first four holes. The eagle came on the 9th, and she finished the job with another birdie on the 12th. It is Paula’s second individual victory in the NCAA, following the one achieved at the beginning of this season. Additionally, she has no less than 10 top 10s in 15 stroke play tournaments played. In passing, she removes the thorn from last year in this same tournament, held at the Meadow Club in Fairfax, when she finished in third place. Stanford University, the team of Paula and Andrea Revuelta, absent this week, also took the team victory.
Casilda Allendesalazar couldn’t complete the three out of three. The Madrid native went out to play the final round of the Momentum Transportation UNF Collegiate at the Jacksonville Country and GC, tied for the lead with Anna Andrysova, but a final round of 76 strokes for a total of PAR left her without options. The key was in the stretch from hole 10 to 13, where she chained two bogeys and a double bogey. She finished three strokes behind the winner, the aforementioned Andrysova. Nevertheless, a great second place for Allendesalazar, a player from North Florida. The outstanding Spanish performance is completed with the fifth place of Daniela Campillo, a player from Louisiana Monroe and a teammate of the winner. The Barcelona golfer finished with a scorecard of 74 strokes for a total of +4. As a team, Campillo’s university finished third and Casilda’s in fourth position.
Meanwhile, Carolina López Chacarra, who started very well in the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, lost positions in the second round and is far from victory with 18 holes to go. The Madrid native from Wake Forest scored 75 strokes and is positioned with a result of +4 in 24th place, tied with fellow Spaniard Julia Sánchez, a golfer from Alabama. Two strokes further back are Rocío Tejedo from Louisiana State and Balma Dávalos from Auburn. There is still one round left where things can change a lot. The top 10 is well within reach for the four Spaniards.
Finally, Josele Ballester bid farewell to The Cabo Collegiate with the best round of the week. He scored 69 strokes, two under par, and climbed some positions in the standings to finish 32nd. The winners were Pongsapak Laopakdee, Preston Stout, and Tyler Weaver, all with -8, fourteen strokes less than the Spanish US Amateur champion. At least, his university, Arizona State, took the team victory.
