The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
NCAA Regional Championship
No. 13 Women’s Golf preview: NCAA Albuquerque Regional Championship
05.08.2022 | Women's Golf
The Longhorns open the NCAA Tournament at the University of New Mexico Championship Course on Monday.
When: Monday, May 9 – Wednesday, May 11
Schedule of Play: Three rounds of stroke play; 18 holes each day
Where: The Championship Course at UNM (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Course Info: Par-72; 6,414 yards
Live Stats
Tournament Notes
The Field: In addition to the Longhorns (No. 13 in the latest WGCA Coaches Poll, released on May 6, 2022), the 12-team NCAA Albuquerque Regional Championship field includes: No. 2 Oregon, No. 12 Florida, No. 23 Arizona, Georgia, Louisville, New Mexico State, Northern Arizona, North Texas, Oklahoma, Sam Houston State and TCU.
In the opening round, UT will be paired with No. 2 Oregon and No. 12 Florida with play beginning 9 a.m. CT on hole one.
The top four teams from each of the six regional sites across the country advance to the NCAA Championship (May 20-25) at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
"I'm happy to be here with my team. We're off to a good start in our post-season play and our goal is to continue that play this week," said Texas head coach Ryan Murphy. "For us, it will be business as usual sticking to our same routines. We will learn the course as quickly as we can and try to get sharper each day through the week."
Last Time at the NCAA Regional Championship: Texas last played in a NCAA Regional Tournament in May of 2021 at the NCAA Louisville Regional where the Horns finished tied for second in the overall team standings. That field included seven of the top-25 teams and 12 of the top-50. Current Longhorn Sara Kouskova finished tied for 27th in the individual standings last year, shooting a five-over-par 221 (76-72-73). Bentley Cotton (T57th) also competed for the Longhorns at the 2021 event.
Ryan Murphy and the Longhorns at the NCAA Regional Championship: In his eighth season leading the Longhorns Women's Golf program, this will be the seventh NCAA Regional Championship event for Murphy. He led the Longhorns to a first-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Norman Regional, two runner-up finishes in 2018 (Austin Regional) and 2021 (Louisville Regional), and a third-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Bryan Regional.
Texas at the NCAA Regional Championships: Since its inception in the 1992-93 season, Texas has competed at the NCAA Regional Tournaments every season except for the 2006-07 season and the 2019-20 season, when the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Longhorns have placed high enough in the NCAA Regionals to advance to the NCAA Championship Tournament 21 times. Texas will look to move on to the NCAA Championship for the sixth consecutive season and 30th time in program history. UT claimed their first victory at a NCAA Regional event at the 2019 NCAA Norman Regional where they won by nine strokes over Florida and Wake Forest. The Horns have also had 14 top-five finishes and four runner-up performances at the regional events.
Homecoming for Murphy: A native of New Mexico, Longhorn head coach Ryan Murphy will be returning to the place where his collegiate golf and coaching career began. Murphy was a four-year letterwinner for the University of New Mexico from 1994-97 under current Texas men's head coach John Fields. He twice earned Academic All-America honors for his performance in the classroom, had a career stroke average of 75.04 and played in the NCAA Championships each of his four seasons.
"I'm happy to be back in New Mexico where I grew up and went to college," Murphy added. "I have a lot of fond memories in Albuquerque playing for Coach Fields and playing the Championship course. From a personal perspective, I'm ecstatic that this is where we've been sent."
Murphy was a member of UNM's Western Athletic Conference championship team in 1996 and helped lead the Lobos to a sixth-place tie in the 1996 NCAA Championships, their best finish since 1979. Murphy's top career finish as an individual was a tie for sixth in the 1995 WAC Championships. A Lovington, N.M. native and graduate of Lovington High School, he earned his bachelor's degree from UNM in 1997. He was a graduate assistant in the UNM athletics department while earning his master's degree in sport administration before beginning his coaching career as an assistant Men's Golf Coach for the Lobos from 2001-05. The UNM men's squad won three conference championships and finished as high as fifth at the NCAA Championships during his coaching stint in Albuquerque.
Polling: In addition to the latest WGCA Poll (released May 6), where Texas ranked No. 13, the Longhorns also rank 13th in the most recent Golfstat Poll (released May 4) and 14th in the latest Golfweek Poll (released April 27).
For Texas: UT will be represented by the following five players at the NCAA Albuquerque Regional:
- Bentley Cotton (So., 74.03 avg.)
- Sophie Guo (Jr., 74.67 avg.)
- Sara Kouskova (Sr., 73.00 avg.)
- Bohyun Park (Fr., 72.56 avg.)
- Brigitte Thibault (Grad., 75.54 avg.)
Inside the Texas Squad
Bentley Cotton, Sophomore, Austin, Texas: No. 110 in the latest Golfstat individual rankings (released May 4) … 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) … placed tied for sixth-place finish at the Lamkin Invitational (Feb. 15) at three-over-par 219 (72-70-77) … finished in 14th-place finish 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. 156 in the latest Golfstat individual player rankings … earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors … 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 on the 2021-22 season at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic with a tied for 23rd place finish (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 … currently 67-22 versus the top-100 ranked players … 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-1o 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) … received an invitation, and has accepted, to compete 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. 29 in the latest Golfstat individual player rankings … currently 58-30 versus the top-100 ranked players 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, giving her four top-15 finishes on the season … 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 tied 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. 228 in the latest Golfstat individual player rankings … 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.
Players Mentioned
