USC Women defend title at Grumman Regional

February 16, 2011 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

After a slow start, the USC women's team rally to win at Palos Verdes G.C.

RANCHO PALOS VERDES, Calif. (Feb. 16, 2011) -- Battling rainy weather and a sluggish start, the No. 2 USC women’s golf team, led by senior Lizette Salas and freshman Sophia Popov, rallied midway through the final round -- from third to first -- to claim its second consecutive title at the 2011 Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge on Wednesday (Feb. 16) at the Palos Verdes (Calif.) G.C. USC began the day two strokes back of first-place UCLA with Pepperdine in third. But the three teams, paired together, struggled in the early morning inclement weather and fell in the standings as fourth-place Arizona State surged to first. But as the skies cleared and the conditions improved, USC found its sea legs and the bottom of the cup just enough times to hold off its Pac-10 and local rivals. Troy finished at 32-over 884 (290-295-299), two strokes ahead of the Sun Devils (886) and three ahead of UCLA (887). Wake Forest moved into a tie for fourth with Pepperdine (895). Salas (71-77-73) and Popov (74-74-73) tied for seventh at 8-over 221. Salas, who notched her third top 10 finish in four outings this season, started the day with four bogeys in five holes. But she settled down and finished the final 12 holes at 2-under, which included three birdies. Popov had the steadiest day of any Trojan for the second round in a row. Starting on the 3rd hole in the shotgun start, she bogeyed 4, doubled 12 and birdied 14 for her 2-over round. After winning her first tournament in November, she now has back-to-back top 10 finishes. Junior Lisa McCloskey, the tournament’s defending champion, found the going tough in the early morning start and was 5-over after six holes. But she finished the final two thirds of the round at 1-over to finish tied for 11th at 9-over 222 (73-72-77). Sophomore Cyna Rodriguez tied for 16th at 11-over 224 (74-74-76) while junior Inah Park tied for 27th at 15-over 227 (72-75-80).

Most Popular Articles

GOLF'S LONGEST DAY: 2026 U.S. Open Final Qualifying Monday June 8

Jun 5, 2026Follow along from 10 locations - our team is on the ground looking for the best stories

2026 U.S. Open Final Qualifying: A final rundown from Golf's Longest Day

Jun 8, 202612 amateurs qualified for Shinnecock at 10 sites around the country on June 8. Two of them were medalists.

2026 NCAA Men's Golf Championship: Live Coverage, Field & Daily Updates from La Costa

Jun 3, 2026Auburn defeats UCLA at La Costa to capture its second NCAA men’s golf championship in three years.

Stanford Wins 4th NCAA Women's Golf Title, Tops USC

May 26, 2026The Cardinals closed a dominant week at La Costa with another match-play crown — their fourth national title

2026 NCAA DI Men's Regionals Recap: The 30 Teams Through to Omni La Costa

May 21, 2026Texas, Arizona and Oklahoma rolled, Vanderbilt outdueled No. 1 Auburn, and Texas Tech headlined a brutal bubble.

Filters

Loading latest news...

Loading article...