Maria Jose Marin leads Arkansas to dominate win at the Blessings Collegiate

October 2, 2024 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

Maria Jose Marin (Arkansas Athletics Photo)

In the men's competition, Gunnlaugur Arni Sveinsson and Algot Kleen led LSU to the convincing sweep

Maria Jose Marin of Arkansas shot 11-under to run away with the Blessings Collegiate Invitational at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark. Marin carded rounds of 65-73-67 to secure the six-shot win and lead Arkansas to the 33-shot win over the field.

Julia Lopez-Ramirez of Mississippi State finished in solo second place at 5-under.

Marin, who earned medalist honors and reached the semifinals of the 2024 U.S. Women's Amateur, shot an impressive 7-under 65 to take an early three-shot lead. Currently ranked No. 9 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Women's Rankings, she also finished tied for 17th at the LPGA's NW Arkansas Championship this past weekend, the only amateur to make the cut.

Reagan Zibilski of Arkansas finished in solo third place at 3-under, and Kendall Todd of Arkansas and Carla Bernat of Kansas State finished T4 at even par to round out the top five.

Arkansas secured a dominant win in the team competition, winning by 33 shots and having four golfers finish in the top seven.

The host school finished 12-under with rounds of 279-293-280 to pull away from the field.

The SEC filled the leaderboard, with Mississippi State finishing in solo second place at 21-over and LSU finishing in solo third place at 32-over. BYU finished in solo fourth place at 35-over, and Kansas State finished in solo fifth place at 45-over.

In the men's competition, Gunnlaugur Arni Sveinsson and Algot Kleen led LSU to the sweep. Arni Sveinsson finished 7-under to win the individual competition, holding off teammate Algot Kleen, who shot a final round 9-under 63 to rise 12 spots up the leaderboard to 5-under and a solo second-place finish.

Arni Sveinsson carded rounds of 71-67-71 to secure the win.

Sebastian Moss of Louisville finished in solo third place at 2-under, and Jordan Gilkison of Kent State finished in solo fourth place at 1-under.

LSU shot 2-under as a team to win by 16 shots over Mississippi State, who finished in solo second place at 14-over.

Louisville finished in solo third place at 26-over.

Results: Blessings Collegiate

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Gunnlaugur Sveinsson	, Iceland	600	71-67-71=209
2	Algot Kleen	, Sweden	400	72-76-63=211
3	Sebastian Moss	Pearland, TX	300	71-71-72=214
4	Jordan Gilkison	Springboro, OH	300	72-69-74=215
5	Erich Fortlage	, Paraguay	300	75-70-72=217

View full results for Blessings Collegiate

About the Blessings Collegiate

Maria Jose Marin leads Arkansas to dominate win at the Blessings Collegiate

Started in 2020, the Blessings Collegiate Invitational features men’s and women’s teams competing in a 54- hole stroke play format for individual and team honors.