Catherine Park staged a remarkable comeback from a five-shot deficit to capture co-medalist honors at the Leadership and Golf Invitational at Chambers Bay Golf Club, University Place, Wash.
The 20-year-old junior from USC, ranked No. 4 on the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Women's Rankings, fired an 8-under total over three rounds to share the title with Riana Mission, a junior from the University of San Francisco.
Park’s rounds of 67-73-68 mirrored Mission’s 67-68-73, but it was Park's final-round 4-under 68 that made the difference. Trailing by five shots heading into the final round, Park started the day at 4-under while Mission led at 9-under.
Park’s relentless play erased the gap as Mission faltered with a 73, forcing a tie and securing co-medalist honors.
This victory marked Park’s fourth collegiate title, tying her for fifth on USC’s all-time leaderboard and cementing her legacy alongside alumna Denise Strebig, with both players now ranked sixth in program history for total wins.
Park's play also fueled USC’s dominance in the team competition, as the Trojans cruised to a 9-shot victory over Grand Canyon University. USC posted a team total of 5-under 859 (290-281-288), while Grand Canyon finished second at 4-over 868.
Park’s teammate, sophomore Bailey Shoemaker, finished tied for 6th at 3-under with rounds of 73-70-70. Freshman Jasmine Koo tied for 15th at 2-over, senior Xin (Cindy) Kou tied for 22nd at 4-over, and freshman Kyline Chong rounded out USC’s effort, finishing T-61 at 14-over.