No. 3 golf looks to continue stellar start


The USC women’s golf team is making an early-season splash, ranked No. 3 and coming off a season-opening victory at the ANNIKA intercollegiate. The Trojans prepare for the Stanford Intercollegiate, which begins on Friday.

The team is coming off its 20th consecutive season reaching the NCAA championship and 11th straight year finishing in the top 5. The Trojans have won the ANNIKA two years in a row and it is their third season opening victory in the last four years. They erased a 13-stroke deficit in the final round to emerge victorious behind a career best event by redshirt senior Victoria Morgan, who finished a team best 8th place with a 7-under at 209.

“My game has come a long way over the last few years,” said Morgan, who originally joined the program as a walk-on. “More recently, we’ve put in a lot of work on my short game, so I’m excited to see that pay off under pressure just like the full-swing changes have.”

In their second tournament at the Windy City Collegiate Classic in Chicago, the team placed third, only 5 strokes behind first place Georgia. Seniors Gabriella Then and Karen Chung finished in the top 10, tied for fourth and ninth, respectively, with freshman Allisen Corpuz and sophomore Robynn Ree finishing in the top 20, tied for 16th.

Individually, the Trojans have put together quite a team. Senior Tiffany Chan competed in the Rio Olympics for Hong Kong as well as being named an All-American last season. Ree was also named an All-American last year. Freshman Allisen Corpuz is a three-time AJGA All-American.

“Our team has an unreal amount of depth and talent,” Morgan said. “I’m excited to watch all of them tee it up. It could be a big year for us. We definitely have our eyes set on a national championship.”

Chan, Then and Chung will miss this week’s match at Stanford to compete in the second stage of the LPGA’s Q School.