2023-2024 Women's Golf Season

[Kung Wu]

FYI Dr. Wu. We just found out today that the Shox were playing here. We live in the top PH on hole 13 overlooking the water & the 14th floating green. We will have our shocker hats & shirts on tomorrow for the final round. You never know where you will find Shocker alumni. If they come back here next season we will host a nice party for them at our home.

I lost 4 golf balls just from looking at that photo.

[1972Shocker]

A couple of team records set by this years team shows that are moving in the right direction. Still need to develop more consistency and a bit more depth in the 4 and 5 slots.

The big challenge is that AAC's women's golf is far superior to the level of golf the Shocks were built for to compete in the MVC. I think just getting up into the middle 3rd of AAC golf is a reasonable goal for Shocker WG.

In the 5 AAC Women's Golf Championships since the Shocks joined the AAC with 10 teams competing the Shocks finished 5th, 9th, 10th, 9th and 10th. The Shocks 5th place finish in 2018 was powered by Shocker senior, and probably the top golfer in school history, Taryn Torgerson winning medalist honors.

I have no idea how the realignment moves have impacted the quality of AAC women's golf. Houston and UCF, along with SMU and Tulsa, are among the better programs in the AAC at least since the Shocks have joined the conference. Cincinnati has been similar to the Shocks. Temple, the northern most school in the AAC does not field a women's golf team. I presume all 6 of the new additions being southern schools do have women's golf programs will have at mostly decent women's golf programs. So with 13 teams competing I would break it down into top 4, middle 5, and bottom 4.

So my hope for the Shocks will be for them to finish 5th through 9th on a consistent basis. I do think that Mackenzie Wilson and Kate Tilma, if they stay around, can perhaps challenge or even surpass Taryn Torgerson for the best to play at WSU. Now if Coach McCurdy can develop a decent supporting cast to go with them I am hopeful that Shocker WG will be moving up.

[1972Shocker]

Shockers Look to Defend Crown in Omaha

Fast Facts – Big O Classic
Dates: Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 2-3, 2023
Host: Creighton University
Location: Omaha, Nebraska (Oak Hills Country Club)
Yardage: 6,088 Yards
Par: 73
Format: 54 Holes (36 first day, 18 second day)
Live Scoring: Golfstat
The Field: 12 teams
12 teams – Creighton, Idaho State, Missouri State, Montana, Northern Colorado, Omaha, St. Thomas, South Dakota State, UNI, UTRGV, Western Illinois, Wichita State

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Shocker Five in Omaha:
Mackenzie Wilson (So.) -- Playing in 13^th tournament as a Shocker and third of the season…Finished tied for 20^th at Payne Stewart Memorial…Finished tied 7^th at Coeur d'Alene Intercollegiate last week.

Kate Tilma (So.) -- Transfer from Kansas State…Wichita native…Competing in third event of season…Finished tied for fifth at season-opening tournament.

Anna Takahasi (Gr.) -- Graduate transfer from Sam Houston State…Competing in third event of season…Finished tied for 13^th in first tournament of season at Payne Stewart Memorial

Hillary Currier (Fr.) -- True freshman…Competing in third tournament in her career.

Lauren Thiele (R-Fr.) -- Second year Shocker playing in second collegiate tournament after redshirt year…Finished tied for 70^th in only other tournament of her career.

I think the key to the Shocks winning this tournament again will be how the 2 freshman hold up.

[1972Shocker]

The Shocks are in 2nd place after Round 1 at 13-over par, 7 shots behind leader St. Thomas.

Mackenzie was 5-over par after 12 holes but rallied to birdie 2 of her final 6 holes to get to 3-over 76. However, her teammates all faded a bit in later part of their rounds.

Kate was 3-under par after 10 holes but bogeyed 5 of her final 8 holes to finish at 2-over par 75.

Hillary was 1-over after 11 holes but fades a little bit to 3-over 76 for her round.

Anna was 2-over par after 13 holes before fading to a 5-over 78.

Lauren had a throw away score at 7-over 80. She opened her round par-birdie then spread 8 bogeys over the remaining 16 holes.

[1972Shocker]

Things did not go well for the Shocks in Round 2. After shooting 13-over in round 1 the Shocks ballooned to 25-over in round 2 and it would have been worse if Laruen Thiele and not shot a 3-over 76 while the Shocks #1 golfer, Mackenzie Wilson had a rare throw away score at 10-over 83 and their #2 golfer, Kate Tilma shot a 9-over 82. Hillary Currier shot 8-over 81 and Anna T shot 5-over 7. This dropped the Shocks from 2nd to 5th and are 23 shots behind the leader, St. Thomas. The Shocks will not be defending their crown this year.

I guess you can say the Shocks are getting consistent plays from top to bottom. For the tournament Anna and Laruen are 10-over, Kate and Hillary are 11-over and Mackenzie is 13 over. Unfortunately it isn't because the bottom of the lineup is closing the gap with the top of the lineup. It is just the opposite.

[1972Shocker]

Play at the Big O Classic has been stopped due to rain/lightning in the area and will not be resumed. Scores will revert to the 36-hole results after Monday.

The Shocks were more than halfway through there round and were playing better today. I think they had moved up to 4th at 53--over par. The Shocks won this tournament last year on the same course at 50-over par. This must be a pretty tough golf course for the ladies.

[1972Shocker]

Women’s Golf Set for Bout in Arkansas

The Shocker women's golf team is set to wrap up their fall season with a trip to Hot Springs Village, Arkansas and Diamante Golf Club where they will compete in the Little Rock Golf Classic from Oct. 22-24.

"Diamante is a really nice golf course," said McCurdy. "It's pretty challenging with lots of pine trees and lots of hills and slopes, but it's a very fair golf course. If you can manage your ball well there, you're going to have a good opportunity to score."

Location: Hot Springs Village, Arkansas (Diamante Country Club)
Yardage: 7,432; Par: 72; Format: 54 Holes (18 each day)
Live Scoring: Golfstat

The Field – 18 Teams: Team (Golf Week Ranking):
Arkansas (3)* (Individuals only), Boston College (89), Arkansas State (115), Central Arkansas (129), Bradley (135), California Baptist (141), Memphis (142), Georgia State (154), Wichita State (160), Little Rock (168), Ball State (173), Houston Christian (177), Missouri State (179), Texas Arlington (183), Texas A&M – Commerce (205), Tarleton State (207), Stephen F. Austin (232), Southern Illinois (244)

Shocker Five in Hot Springs:
Madison Slayton (Sr.) -- Playing in 16th tournament as a Shocker and first time in the lineup this season…Finished tied for 72nd at Payne Stewart Memorial competing as an individual…

Kate Tilma (So.) -- Transfer from Kansas State…Wichita native…Competing in fourth event of season…Finished tied for fifth at Payne Stewart Memorial

Hillary Currier (Fr.) – True freshman…Competing in fourth event of season…Finished season best t-22nd finish at Big O Classic on Oct. 3

Brooklyn Benn (So.) – Appearing in the lineup for the first time this season…Finished t-91st at Payne Stewart Memorial earlier this year competing as an individual.

Mackenzie Wilson (So.) -- Second year Shocker playing in fourth tournament of the season…Finished tied for 7th at Coeur d'Alene Intercollegiate on Sept. 26…Finished t-16th at Little Rock Golf Classic last year.

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Hard enough to predict how things will for the Lady Shocks but with 2 players in the lineup fo the first time this season brings an even greater degree of uncertainty to the table.

Hope the Lady Shocks finish off their fall season better than the Shocker men have.

[1972Shocker]

The Shocks carded team score of 9-over par which put them in 14th in the 17 team field. All five Shocker players teed off on #10 in this round. So after playing the back 9 first they were 1-over par and in pretty good shape. But the front 9 was not very kind to the Shocks as they were 8-over on the back half of their round. Cal Baptist at 7-;under, Boston College at 6-under and Central Arkansas at 3-under sit at the top of the team leaderboard.

Mackenzie Wilson led the Shocks with an even par 72. However, she was at 2-under par before a double bogey on the par 8th hole which was her 17th hole of the round. Kate Tilma was 2-over on the back 9 and 1-under on the front 9 for a 1-over 73. Madison Slayton played the back 9 at even par but was 3-over on the front to finish with a 75. Hillary Currier was 1-over on the back 9 and 4-over on the front 9 to card a 77. Brooklyn Benn's 7-over 79 was the throw away score.

Inividually Mackenzie is in a 17-way tie for 22nd and Kate is in a 12-way tie for 39th.

All 5 Shockers will start round 2 on the 10th hole again tomorrow.

[1972Shocker]

The Shocks are on fire out of the gate in round 2. After 4-holes the Shocks are 6-under par. Madison Slayton and Kate Tilma both eagled the par 5 11th hole. I don't recall seeing that before.

Now whether or not the Shocks can continue to play well for remaining 14 holes remains to be seen.

This is a very tightly bunched field at this point. Their is only 7 shots separated 3rd place from 15th place so it doesn't take much to make a big move up or down on the team leaderboard.

Update:

The Shocks got a low as 8-under after 6 holes but stumbles over the final 3 holes of the back 9 with 4 bogeys and 1 birdies to finish the back 9 at 5-under. Kate Tilma was 4-under before making bogeys on 17 and 18 to finish her nine at 2-under. Mackenzie Wilson was at 2-under but she also bogeyed the par 5 18th hole. Madison Slayton finished the back 9 at 2-under as well. She paired her eagle on 11 with 8 pars. Hillary Courier was even par with Brooklyn Benn 1-over par. Brooklyn score not counting at this point.

Now it is on to the front 9 where the Shocks struggled in round 1. Not a good start. Mackensie birdied #1, but that was offset by a Kate Tilma double bogey on #1 and by Madison with a bogey on #1 and a double bogey on #2. The Shocks now have dropped to 1-under for the day and 8-over for the tournament and have fallen all the way to 16th in the 17 team field. So the hot start as already fallen by the wayside.

Boston College and Cal Baptist are tied for the lead at 12-under, 10 shots clear of the field. They are playing the front 9 first, so I expect they will continue to make this a 2-team race heading into tomorrow's final round.

Update:

The Shocks ended up at 3-over par for the round and 12-over for the Tournament which ties them for 13th with Bradley. The middle 6 holes of the round (holes 16, 17, 18, 1, 2 and 3) did the Shocks in.

Madison Slayton was 2-under heading into that stretch played those 6 holes in 3-over. Kate Tilma was 4-under heading to #16 and played the next 6 in 5-over.

Boston College leading the pack at 21-under followed by Cal Baptist at 14-under and Central Arkansas at 8 under.

[1972Shocker]

The Shocks finish up with a 3-over team score in round 3 to finish at 15-over par and tied with Georgia State for 11th place in the 17-team field. Interestingly, Georgia State's Pariya Sanpanawat was the medalist winner at 12-under par.

As with the prior two rounds the Shocks started on the back 9 and finished on the front 9 which has proved to be the tougher side for the Shocks. The Shocks weren't quite as good over the back 9 today but did handle the closing front 9 better. The were 1-over on the back 9 and 2 over on the front 9 in today's round. For the tournament they played the back 9 in even par and were 15-over on the front 9.

Mackenzie Wilson led the Shockers with a 3-under 69 in today's final round was was 4-under for the tournament which put her in a 2-way tied for 12th place on the player leaderboard. None of the other 4 Shockers finished in the top 55 in the 96-player field.

Cal Baptist carded by far the best score of the final round at 12-under par and were able to overcome Boston Colleges 7-stroke lead coming into the final round to finish at 26-under par with Boston College finishing 2nd at 23-under par and Central Arkansas in 3rd at 14 under par. No one else was really close.

Memphis, the only other AAC school in the field finished in a tie for 8th at 12-over. So the Shocks weren't all that far way from finishing in 7th place. On the other hand they were also only 3 shots out of 14th place.

I think the Shocks may have made some progress over last year but not sure it is enough to make much difference in how they will fair in the Spring and in the AAC Championship.

Results: https://results.golfstat.com/public/...team&tid=28544

[1972Shocker]

Doesn't relate to the 2023-24 year but not worth starting a new thread:

Head Women's Golf Coach Tom McCurdy added Germany Native Lara Stifter to his team's 2024-25 roster on National Signing Day.

"I first saw Lara play in Florida in December of last year and was just so impressed with her," said McCurdy. "Her level of composure on the golf course was extraordinary and I could tell that she had a really strong mental game paired with all of the natural gifts she had that other players there to not made her stand out to me."

Stifter has quite the long list of achievements in her amateur golf career and has competed in many large international tournaments, such as the Women's International Amateur Championship, the Doral Jr Classic, the OK Dutch Jr. Open, and the Scottish Girls Open. She was also named to the list of Top 14 Girls Golfers of Germany in 2023.

In her German National League tournaments, she possesses an excellent 18-round score average of 72.

"Lara has a really high ceiling when it comes to her potential," said McCurdy. "She's very excited about the game of golf and she always wants to get better to take her game to a higher level. I truly think that the sky is the limit for her when it comes to golf."

At WSU, she plans to major in biology. She is the daughter of Markus and Birgit Stifter.

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Certainly sounds promising. Hopefully, she will be as solid as our most recent international recruit, Mackenzie Wilson.

[1972Shocker]

Women’s Golf Opens Spring Season in Arizona

Fast Facts – Rio Verde Invitational
Dates: Friday-Sunday, Feb. 23-25, 2024
Host: Western Michigan
Location: Rio Verde, Ariz. (Rio Verde Country Club)
Yardage: 6,024; Par: 72
Format: 54 Holes (18 each day)
Live Scoring: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/10315191151811917691
The Field – 20 Teams: Team (Clippd College Golf Team Ranking)
Kennesaw State (93), Xavier (112), California Baptist (119), Illinois State (138), South Dakota (141), Bradley (143), Oakland (147), Ball State (167), Wichita State (170), Missouri State (174), Bowling Green (177), Akron (195), Butler (199), Western Michigan (202), Utah Tech (205), Eastern Michigan (t-217), Loyola-Chicago (t-217), Central Michigan (223), Ohio (226), Evansville (247).

Shocker Lineup:
1. Mackenzie Wilson (So.)
2. Madison Slayton (Sr.)
3. Kate Tilma (So.)
4. Hillary Currier (Fr.)
5. Lauren Thiele (R-Fr.)

Pretty young Shocker team.

[1972Shocker]

Rio Verde Invitational - Round 1.

The Shocks are in 7th place at 9-over despite Mackenzie Wilson having on of her worst outings as a Shocker. Mackenzie shot a 14-over 86 including Snowman on the Par 4 1st hole, a double bogey on the par 4 7th hole. a Quintuple Bogey on the par 5 9th hole. So 11-over on just those 3 holes. Fortunately, that is the throw away score for this round but a very surprising one.

Kate Tilma led the way with a 1-under par 71 including an eagle on the par 5 18th, Hillary Currier had a 1-over 73, Lauren Thiele had a 4-over 76, with Madison Slaying carding a 5-over 77.

Hopefully, Mackenzie can put this round behind her and get back on track in rounds 2 and 3.

[1972Shocker]

Rio Verde Invitational - Round 2

The Shocks dropped to from 7th place into a 10th place tie with Oakland after an 11-over par 299 in the 2nd rounds. Xavier, Cal Baptist and Illinois State all posted 4-under par team scores and are at the top fo the leader board at 1-under, even par and 4-over for the tournament, respectively. Kennesaw State was also 2-under for the round and sits in 4th place at 9-over for the tournament.

Kate Tilma led the way for the Shocks again in round 2 with a even par 72 despite an uncharacteristic double bogey on the par 5 14th hole. Lauren Thiele came in at 2-over 74, Mackenzie Wilson recovered from her disastrous 1st round to post a 3-over 75 and Madison Slayton carded a 6-over 78. Hillary Courier also posted a 6-over 78 with her score excluded.

Kate Tilma is in a 5-way tie for 6th on the individual leaderboard at 1-under par for he tournament.

[1972Shocker]

Rio Verde Invitational - Round 3

The Lady Shocks recoreded there best round of the tournament at 5-over 293, however, they were only able to move up 1 spot in the standing to finish in 9th place, exactly in line with their ranking coming into the tournament.

For the 3rd consecutive round Kate Tilma led the way for the Shocks carding a 1-under 71 today. Mackenzie Wilson shot her low round of the tournament at 1-over 73 despite a triple bogey 7 on the 15th hole. Lauren Thiele also chipped in a 1-over 73 and had a pretty solid tournament for the Shocks. Hiilary Courier added a 4-over 76 to close out the scoring rounds for the Shocks. Sr. Madison Slayton had the throw away score of 7-over 79.

Finishes on the Individual Scoreboard and Round-By- Round Scores Were:
T5. Kate Tilma 71-72-71 = 214 (-2)
T36. Lauren Thiele 76-74-73 = 223 (+7)
T53. Hillary Courier 73-78-76 = 227 (+11)
T78. Madison Slayton 77-78-79 = 234 (+18)
T78. Mackenzie Wilson 86-75-73 = 234 (+18)