Women of Troy obliterate field to win Pac-12 crown

In wire-to-wire fashion, the USC women’s golf team blew away the rest of the field in the 2013 Pac-12 championship tournament. The team had a blistering first round and finished just as strong to post the only under-par round in the field en route to an eye-popping 24-stroke victory.

Annie Park became the third consecutive USC freshman to win an individual conference title on Wednesday while leading her team to its third Pac-12 championship in the last six years. Park’s final-round 3-under 69 held off teammate Sophia Popov, who took sole possession of second place. The junior shot a third-round 2-under, finishing just short of a record sixth win. Stanford’s Mariah Stackhouse and Colorado’s Jennifer Coleman tied for third.

The second-place finish was Popov’s fifth consecutive top-10 finish and sixth overall this season. The championship for Park was just her second win of the year, with her first coming at the Bruin Wave Invitation on March 5.

“Annie played great today and finished strong,” USC head coach Andrea Gaston said. “It’s really neat to have three-straight freshmen win the Pac-12 individual title.”

The Women of Troy once again benefited from strong play from their entire team, with four players finishing in the top 10. Sophomore Doris Chen’s 1-over performance was good for seventh place, while junior Rachel Morris’ 2-over was good for 10th. Morris and Park both shot 69s tying for the final-round lead.

In the less-than-dramatic team championships, No. 10 Washington overtook No. 7 UCLA for second place. The host Bruins faded on the final day, finishing two strokes behind the Huskies and nearly 30 behind the Trojans. No. 8 Arizona and No. 12 Stanford tied for fourth place. The win is the team’s fifth of the season, tying a team record.

“It was a great team win,” Gaston said. “We wanted the girls to get off to a quick start today and that’s exactly what they did.”

The Women of Troy now look ahead to the NCAA tournament, in which they are sure to be favorites to win their first national championship since 2008. Of the 21 first-place votes in the latest NCAA poll, the squad received 17. USC is hoping to avoid repeating last year’s result at the NCAA championship, when the team suffered a devastating one-stroke loss on the final day of competition.

The NCAA championships are set to begin May 9 at a site to be determined.