USC 4th, Catherine Park 1st After 54 Holes At NCAA Championships

Women’s Golf | May 21, 2023

Freshman Catherine Park followed her remarkable 64 Saturday with a 1-under 71 to take the individual lead while sophomore Xin (Cindy) Kou matched the effort to spearhead another strong round for USC as the Trojans moved into fourth after 54 holes of the 2023 NCAA Championships at Grayhawk G.C. in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Sunday (May 21).

USC made the third-round, 15-team cut without drama, finishing 54 holes at 2-under 862 (296-276-290). Stanford leads the field at 13-under while Wake Forest and Texas are tied for second at 6-under.

Monday’s goal is clear, simply make the final eight-team cut and qualify for the championships match-play bracket. The Trojans will begin the final round eight strokes ahead of Arizona and Texas A&M, which are tied for seventh and the final two top 8 spots.

Park will also have another goal as she will tee off as the individual leader at 10-under 206 (71-64-71). Park touched as low as 13-under during her round before a few late setbacks, but is still playing as well as anyone in the tournament.

“I think my game was not bad today,” she said. “I had a couple of holes that were tough down the stretch. My main goal is to just stay with my routine and be committed to my targets.

“Our team is in a pretty good position going into tomorrow and we have our sights set on making match play. One step at a time.”

Park is trying to become the sixth Trojan to win an individual NCAA Championship and the first since Doris Chen (2014) and Annie Park (2013) won back-to-back titles. Park and USC’s first winner, 1998 victor Jennifer Rosales, were both freshmen when they won it.

USC, meanwhile, is seeking its fourth team title and the first since 2013. The Trojans are also trying to make match play for the first time since 2019 and for the sixth time overall.

Sophomores Xin (Cindy) Kou (74-74-71) and Amari Avery (72-69-78) are tied at 3-over 219. Kou registered her ninth round under par this season with the 71, closing her round at 3-under over her final 12 holes to get there.

Junior Christine Wang made her NCAA Championships debut as a sub for Malia Nam and posted a solid 2-over 74. She birdied her third hole before a triple on 4 and bogeys on 5 and 8. But she settled down and finished the final 10 holes at 2-under.

Junior Brianna Navarrosa registered a third-round 2-over…