Texas uses record round to win Betsy Rawls, end Kent State streak

At the hands of Texas, Kent State’s perfect fall came to an end on Sunday. The Longhorns proved to be too tough playing on their home track in Austin, Texas, and edged Kent State by two shots to win the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational.

The deciding round was Sunday, when Texas went 15 under to climb two spots to the top of the leaderboard. Kent State could only scratch out a 5-under team total to end the week. Entering Sunday’s final round at the University of Texas Golf Club, Kent State had built an eight-shot cushion on the home team.

At the end of the day, Texas cards were covered in red. Freshman Sophie Guo had a bogey-free 8-under 64 to lead the team. Her fourth-place finish overall (at 9 under) was a team best. On Sunday, teammates Sara Kouskova contributed a 67 and Kaitlyn Papp had 68.

Overall, Texas was 19 under for the week. Their final-round total established a new program-best 18-hole team score.

Kent State had won three times entering this event, its last of the fall. Even if the Golden Flashes couldn’t knock off Texas, they did stay ahead of another tough Big 12 team in Oklahoma State. Kent State is under the leadership of head coach Lisa Strom this year after former head coach Greg Robertson returned to his roots at Oklahoma State. The Cowgirls finished third at 13 under.

Oklahoma State freshman Isabella Fierro, one of the most heralded newcomers to women’s college golf, won the individual title with a 15-under total that included a closing 65.

Kent State’s Pimnipa Panthong and Colorado’s Kirsty Hodgkins tied for second at 10 under, followed by Guo in fourth.