Facing wind gusts up to 30 miles-per-hour, their 15-stroke lead over Howard University in the Women’s Team Division dwindled throughout the day on the Irish Course. With only two holes remaining, that lead was gone and NC A&T (70-over) trailed Howard by one.
But a clutch birdie from junior Polina Marina on the final hole, the par-5 18th on the Irish Course, proved crucial and despite a finishing double bogey from junior Ekaterina Prokhorov, the 36-hole Women’s Team Division Medalist leader, the Aggies won by one stroke.
“Still trying to process it all,” NC A&T Head Coach Scooter Clark, PGA, said of his 11th PWCC victory as a coach. “It was neat to see them go through that today and hold on to pull it off.”
Clark has seen every side of the PWCC: as a competitor in the inaugural (1986) championship, as Bethune-Cookman Head Coach, as championship director for the PGA of America and now back as a head coach.
“This is what my heart wanted to feel,” Clark said of returning with a team to lead. “Seeing the pride and sense of accomplishment on a student-athlete’s face, it’s a great moment.”
Howard University (71-over) finished runner-up in the Women’s Team Division, while Alabama State University (112-over) took third.
Despite a final-round 10-over 82, Prokhorova claimed Medalist Honors, finishing 10-over for the Championship and three strokes ahead of teammate Marina (13-over, 77-68-84). “It was a long day,” Prokhorov said, “but I feel like we’ve done a really good job as a team.
“I believed in myself and I believed in my teammates. I just tried to keep my head in the right spot. I’m in love with these two courses. You know, when you’re a kid watching all the pros play on this course, it means everything to me.”
Extra holes were necessary in the Women’s Individual division after University of Delaware freshman Hyunji Kim sunk a 20-foot birdie on the par-4 18th on the Straits course for a final-round 5-over 77 and University of Nebraska-Lincoln senior Miu Takhashi finished with double bogey for a final-round 11-over 83, causing a three-shot swing and a tie at 7-over for the Championship. Starting again at the par-4 10th, Kim did her best to stay calm.
“I was just singing, trying to distract myself,” Kim said. “There were too many cameras, too many people. I was really nervous and shaking in the cold.”
With two putts to win on the first playoff hole, Kim left her lag putt five feet short, then told herself, “I’ve holed so many five-footers in my life, I can hole it.”
So she did.
“Now that it’s over, it’s just been an incredible opportunity and I’m just grateful to be here and play such a fantastic track.”
Kim’s win wasn’t the only victory for the University of Delaware this week as classmate Egor Zubov (6-under) won the Men’s Individual Division with rounds of 67-67-76—210. This marks the first time both men’s and women’s PWCC individual winners have been from the same school since Bethune-Cookman in 2000.
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