Bison can’t repeat magic of last year
After winning last year, NDSU had to settle for fifth this year at the Summit League Championship.
Of all the success that North Dakota State athletics have had over the last year, the women’s golf Summit League championship was the most surprising.
A year on, there would be no such surprises at Sand Creek Station Golf Course. The Bison put up some solid performances, but that was only good enough for fifth place in the Summit League Championship.
The Bison were solidly positioned in the middle of the leaderboard throughout the three rounds of play. Taylor McCorkle shot the best round of any Bison over the event in the first round. The sophomore rebounded from a bogey on the opening hole with steady play. Two bogeys on the back nine were cancelled out by two birdies over the same stretch.
McCorkle finished the day with a three-over-par 75, one shot off the leader, South Dakota State’s Teresa Toscano.
McCorkle was the only Bison in the top 20 after the first 18 holes, as the Bison sat in sixth place. Emma Groom and Sierra Bennion were the next Bison on the leaderboard with an 83 and 84 in 24th and 28th place, respectively.
The leaderboard underwent changes on the second day. McCorkle struggled to an 83 and fell down into a tie for seventh.
Maddie Herzog was the low scorer for NDSU on day two. The freshman tallied two birdies on her way to shooting a 78, four shots off the low scorer of the day.
Groom, Bennion and Alexis Thomas cut their first rounds scores, as the team tallied a 323, down from 328 after the first round.
The Bison held station for the final round Tuesday. Despite shooting the second-lowest score as a team on the day, NDSU found themselves in no-man’s land in order to move out of fifth.
McCorkle was steady throughout the day, shooting one-over par on the front nine. Bogeys on No. 11 and No. 12 were the only other marks on the scorecard as the Oregon, Wisconsin native finished in a tie for seventh, finishing with a 17-over-par 233.
Groom continued her climb up the leaderboard. A bogey at the first was cancelled out by a birdie on the second and was followed by 13 straight pars. Another bogey, this time at No. 16, was offset by a birdie on the final hole for an even-par day. Groom finished in a tie for 12th at 21-over-par.
Herzog was not far behind Groom, opening the final round with seven pars before fading a slight bit with consecutive bogeys. The only other non-par was a bogey at No. 14 to finish the day three-over and 23-over during the tournament, good enough for 17th.
NDSU finished with a team score of 944 at the first Summit League Championship at Sand Creek Station Golf Course. Denver won the championship thanks to shooting one-over as a team Tuesday.