The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Championship
No. 13 Women’s Golf preview: NCAA Championship
05.19.2022 | Women's Golf
The Longhorns are set to play in their sixth-straight and 30th overall NCAA Tournament from May 20-25 in Scottsdale, Ariz.
When: Friday, May 20 – Wednesday, May 25
Schedule of Play: 18 holes of stroke play each on Friday, Saturday, Sunday; top-15 teams and top-9 individuals not on an advancing team compete for an additional 18-hole stroke play round on Monday to determine the top eight teams for match play competition and the 72-hole stroke play individual champion; the top eight then compete in match play on Tuesday and Wednesday for the team championship.
Where: Grayhawk Golf Club (Scottsdale, Ariz.)
Course Info: Par-72; 6,384 yards
Live Stats
Tournament Notes
The Field: In addition to the Longhorns (No. 13 in the final WGCA Coaches Poll of the season, released on May 6, 2022), the 24-team NCAA Championship field includes: No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 South Carolina, No. 4 Wake Forest, No. 5 San Jose State, No. 6 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Arizona State, No. 8 Virginia, No. 9 Alabama, No. 10 UCLA, No. 11 USC, No. 14 LSU, No. 15 Florida State, No. 16 Baylor, No. 17 Texas A&M, No. 18 Auburn, No. 19 Michigan, No. 21 Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi State, Purdue, TCU and Vanderbilt.
In the opening round, UT will be paired with No. 11 USC and No. 15 Florida State with play beginning at 2:25 p.m. CT on hole one.
The Golf Channel will provide live coverage for the final three days of the championship tournament.
With a runner-up finish at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional, Texas advances to the NCAA Championship for the sixth-straight season and 30th time in program history. That streak does not include the 2020 NCAA Championship, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The six-straight appearances for UT are tied for the third-longest streak in the nation.
Last Time at the NCAA Regional Championship: Texas last played in the NCAA Championship in May of 2021 where they advanced to the Match Play quarterfinals. The Longhorns, who stood in fifth place after the stroke play portion of last year's NCAA Championship, fell to eventual national champion Ole Miss in a 3-2 quarterfinal match, finishing the year tied for No. 5 nationally. It was the ninth top-five finish in program history and second consecutive top-5 performance. UT finished stroke play in first place at the 2019 NCAA Championship, but lost to Auburn (3-2) in the quarterfinal round of Match Play that year. The back-to-back top-five finishes in 2019 and 2021 marked the first time the Horns finished that high in consecutive national championships since 2002-03. That came before the NCAA instituted the eight-team Match Play format beginning with the championship in 2015. Texas is also one of only five teams that advanced to the eight-team Match Play portion of the NCAA Championship in each of the last two times out (2019 & 2021), joining Auburn, Arizona, Duke and Stanford in that elite group.
Ryan Murphy and the Longhorns at the NCAA Championship: In his eighth season leading the Texas Women's Golf program, this will be the sixth NCAA Championship event for Murphy. He led the Longhorns to back-to-back top-five placements in 2019 and 2021, UT's highest finish at the NCAA Championship since the 2002-03 season.
Texas at the NCAA Regional Championships: This will mark the Longhorns' sixth consecutive and 30th overall appearance in the NCAA Championship Tournament. Throughout the program's history, Texas has finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championship 15 times and in the top five nine times. Charlotta Sorenstam won individual medalist honors for UT 1993, while Heather Bowie did the same in 1997.
Polling: In addition to the final spring WGCA Poll (released May 6), where Texas ranked No. 13, the Longhorns also rank 13th in the most recent Golfstat Poll (released May 14) and 15th in the latest Golfweek Poll (released May 12).
For Texas: UT will be represented by the following six players at the NCAA Championship:
- Bentley Cotton (So., 73.85 avg.)
- Sophie Guo (Jr., 74.61 avg.)
- Sara Kouskova (Sr., 72.97 avg.)
- Bohyun Park (Fr., 72.57 avg.)
- Brigitte Thibault (Grad., 75.30 avg.)
- Tiffany Cao (Fr., 76.33 avg.)*
*Alternate player
Inside the Texas Squad
Bentley Cotton, Sophomore, Austin, Texas: No. 102 in the latest Golfstat individual rankings (released May 14) and No. 248 in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings (May 18) … finished as the leading Longhorn with a tied for sixth placement at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional (May 9-11) at even-par 216 (68-75-73), giving her three top-10 finishes on the season … recorded her fourth round in the 60s and ninth round at par or better during the opening round at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional … finished tied for 11th at the Big 12 Championship (April 22-24) at nine-over-par 222 (74-71-77), giving her five top-20 finishes on the season … earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 Honors … registered a collegiate-best fourth place finish at The Bruzzy (April 11-12) at seven-under-par 209 (75-68-66), giving her a total of four top-20 and two top-10 finishes on the 2021-22 season … set her collegiate-best 18-hole score at six-under-par 66 during the third round of The Bruzzy, which is tied for eighth all-time for lowest 18-hole scores by a Longhorn … the final round of 66 also ties Kouskova for the lowest round by a Longhorn on the 2021-22 season … her final round of six-under-par ranks tied for sixth in the UT record books for an 18-hole score relative to par … finished tied for 18th at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge (March 13-15) … tied for sixth place at the Lamkin Invitational (Feb. 15) at three-over-par 219 (72-70-77) … finished in 14th place in the Windy City Classic (Oct. 5) … set her then collegiate-best 18-hole score of three-under-par 68 in the second round of the Stanford Intercollegiate (Oct. 16) … four top-25 individual finishes in seven tournament appearances in the 2020-21 season … placed 17th at the East Lake Cup and tied for 18th at the Trinity Forest Invitational.
Sophie Guo, Junior, Orlando, Florida (GWOH): No. 154 in the latest Golfstat individual player rankings and No. 194 in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings … earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors … placed in the top 25 at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional with a six-over-par 222 (74-71-77) … shot her eighth round of par or better on the season during the second round at Albuquerque … registered two rounds at par or better at The Bruzzy, including an even-par 72 in the opening round and a two-under-par 70 in the final round … placed in the top 25 for the second time during the 2021-22 season at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic with a tie for 23rd (March 25-27) … registered her fifth round at par or better on the season with an even-par 72 during the final round of the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic … tied her season-best 18-hole score of three-under-par 69 in the first round of the Lamkin Invitational (Feb. 14) … tied for 18th at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate (Sept. 13-15) at one-over-par 217 (74-73-70) … fired a season-best 18-hole score of two-under-par 69 in the second round of the Stanford Intercollegiate (Oct. 16) … seven top-20 individual finishes in eight tournament appearances in the 2020-21 season … placed third at the East Lake Cup and seventh at the Mountain View Collegiate last year … tied for 20th place at the NCAA Championship … posted a 72.70 scoring average in 2020-21 … No. 66 in the final 2021 Golfstat individual national rankings … 2021 All-Big 12 Team.
Sara Kouskova, Senior, Prague, Czech Republic (KOOS-co-VUH): No. 19 in the latest Golfstat individual player rankings and No. 35 in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings … currently 74-20 versus the top-100 ranked players … tied for 11th at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional at two-over-par 218 (73-72-73), giving her eight top-20 finishes on the season … recorded her 12th round at par or better during the second round at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional … finished in sixth place at the Big 12 Championship at five-over-par 218 (71-74-73), giving her seven top-25 and four top-10 finishes on the season … earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors … placed in the top 10 for the second tournament in a row with a tied for 10th finish at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge (March 13-15) … finished in fifth at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (Feb. 28-March 2) at even-par 213 (72-69-72) … ranked eighth in the first spring 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup rankings … finished tied for 26th at the Lamkin Invitational (Feb. 15) at 10-over-par 226 (80-71-75) … competed in the prestigious Augusta National Women's Amateur March 30-April 2 in Augusta, Ga … tied for 12th at the Landfall Tradition (Oct. 29-31) at one-under-par 215 (72-73-70) … second at the Stanford Intercollegiate (Oct. 15-17) at 12-under-par 201 (68-67-66) … tied her collegiate-best 18-hole score of 66 during the final round at Stanford (Oct. 17) … her three-round 201 marked the second-lowest 54-hole score in school history … tied for 15th at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate (Sept. 13-15) at even-par 216 (70-73-73) … tied for 19th at the Windy City Classic (Oct. 5) at nine-over-par 225 (77-70-78) … 2021 honorable mention All-American (WGCA and Golfweek) … six top-20 individual finishes in eight tournament appearances in the 2020-21 season … won the 2021 Arizona Wildcat Invitational … No. 27 in the final 2021 Golfstat individual national rankings … posted a 72.16 scoring average and shot par or better in 14 of her 25 rounds in 2020-21 … 2020-21 Edith Cummings Munson Award recipient (success on the course and in the classroom) … 2021 All-Big 12 Team.
Bohyun Park, Freshman, Farmers Branch, Texas (B-OH-yun): No. 25 in the latest Golfstat individual player rankings and No. 33 in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings … currently 65-26 versus the top-100 ranked players … finished tied for 11th at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional at two-over-par 218 (76-72-70), giving her six top-15 finishes on the season … registered her team leading 12th and 13th rounds of par or better during the second and third rounds at Albuquerque … tied for third at the Big 12 Championship at four-over-par (72-70-75), her third top-five placement on the season … finished tied for 14th at one-over-par 217 (77-69-71) at The Bruzzy … registered her fourth round in the 60s on the season with a three-under-par 69 during the second round of The Bruzzy … tied for second among the amateur competitors at the LPGA Chevron Championship … shot a three-under-par 69 during the second round of the Chevron Championship (April 1) … finished in the top 25 for fifth time on the 2021-22 season at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge (March 13-15) … registered a collegiate-best second-place finish at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (Feb. 28-March 2) at two-under-par 211 (70-70-71) … ranked 21st in the first spring 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup rankings … finished in a tie for 23rd at the Landfall Tradition (Oct. 29-31) at two-over-par (71-76-71) … tied her collegiate-best 18 hole score of 68 during the final round at the Stanford Intercollegiate (Oct. 17) … registered a third-place showing at the Windy City Classic (Oct. 5) at one-under-par 215 (68-74-73) … tied for 10th place in her collegiate debut at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate (Sept. 13-15) at two-under-par 214 (73-73-68), highlighted by a four-under-par 68 in the final round … qualified as a high schooler to compete in the 2021 U.S. Open … won three individual Class 4A state championships for Carrollton Ranchview … became just the eighth female in Texas UIL history to claim three state golf titles … won the 2021 state title with an 11-stroke margin over the second-place finisher … climbed to as high as No. 2 in the AJGA rankings … won the KJ Choi Foundation Texas Junior Championship in July 2020 … placed third at the 2018 AJGA Girls Championship and fourth at the 2019 AJGA Girls Championship … earned a second-place finish at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship in August 2020 and a fourth-place result at the 2019 Rolex Tournament of Champions.
Brigitte Thibault, Graduate Student, Rosemere, Quebec, Canada (BRIDGE-it, TEE-bow): No. 215 in the latest Golfstat individual player rankings and No. 261 in the current World Amateur Golf Rankings … tied for 17th at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional at four-over-par 220 (72-78-70) … recorded her fourth and fifth rounds at par or better during the opening and final rounds at Albuquerque … placed tied for 14th at one-over-par 217 (72-74-71) at The Bruzzy, her best finish as a Longhorn … shot a one-under-par 70 (her lowest round as a Longhorn) during the first round of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate (Feb. 28-March 2) … graduate transfer from Fresno State … first player in Fresno State program history to advance to the NCAA Championship … earned her individual spot at the 2021 nationals with a tie for sixth place at the NCAA Stanford Regional, recording a 2-under 211 (70-73-68) … holds the Fresno State record for career scoring average (73.17) … three-time first-team All-Mountain West selection (2019, 2020, 2021) … posted four top-10 and seven top-15 individual finishes in the 2020-21 season … won the 2021 Rebel Beach Intercollegiate (Feb. 15-16) with a 4-under 212 (72-70-70) … competed at the 2021 Augusta National Women's Amateur … 2019 Mountain West Conference individual champion.
Tiffany Cao, Freshman, Midlothian, Texas (CHOW): No. 981 in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings … made her 2022 spring season debut at The Bruzzy … shot two rounds at par or better at The Bruzzy with an even-par round of 72 during the opening and final rounds … runner-up at the 2021 Texas Class 5A state tournament with a score of 141 (70-71), just one stroke back from the winner … two-time 5A UIL State Tournament qualifier … helped Midlothian to a seventh place team finish at the 2019 5A State Tournament.
Players Mentioned
