Arkansas sophomore Maria Jose Marin celebrates after winning the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship on Monday.
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Maria Jose Marin had some company down the stretch, but her clutch play never gave anyone a chance to get too close.
The Arkansas sophomore closed the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship with a three-under 69 to win the DI individual title at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa’s North Course on Monday, becoming the third Razorback to take home individual honors. She joins Maria Fassi (2019) and Stacy Lewis (2007).
“I have mixed emotions, and the strongest is I’m super happy right now,” Jose Marin told reporters. “I trust my game on every single shot. I knew I was capable of a great round, and it was.”
Jose Marin shot 70 and 72 in the first two rounds, but she pulled ahead with a bogey-free, seven-under 65 on Sunday. That gave her the 54-hole lead, and she played the final round alongside USC’s Catherine Park and Florida State’s Mirabel Ting, who both started the day three back of her.
But Jose Marin came out firing. She made birdie on the opening hole on Monday and turned in three under. Her only bogey came on the par-4 13th, but she closed her round with a birdie on the par-5 finisher.
Ting, the second-ranked amateur in the world, started slow but shot 31 on the back nine to get within two and take solo second.
Holding the clubhouse lead at 12 under, Jose Marin had to wait it out to see if anyone would catch her. Stanford’s Kelly Xu had a shot as she got to 10 under through 11 (and trailed by one at the time), but she bogeyed the 12th and made double on 16 to shoot 71 and take third.
It’s the third win of the year for Jose Marin, who is ranked 10th. Last year she also won the stroke-play portion of the U.S. Women’s Amateur and advanced to the semifinals before she had to withdraw due to injury.
Monday’s win also earned her another start — she’s now exempt into next week’s U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.
As GOLF.com’s managing editor, Berhow handles the day-to-day and long-term planning of one of the sport’s most-read news and service websites. He spends most of his days writing, editing, planning and wondering if he’ll ever break 80. Before joining GOLF.com in 2015, he worked at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., he resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and two kids. You can reach him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.
