Men’s, women’s golf gear up for tough tournaments


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Sophomore Jennifer Chang tied for first in the Clover Cup, a performance that helped the Trojans secure the team’s victory. (Photo from Twitter/USC Women’s Golf)

Both the men’s and women’s golf teams look to continue their stellar seasons this weekend at the Goodwin Tournament hosted by Stanford and the ASU Invite, respectively.

The women’s team is currently on a roll. The Trojans dominated the competition at the Clover Cup two weeks ago, winning the tournament by a combined 16 strokes. This performance solidified the Trojans’ position above Texas as the No. 1 team nationally. Although the competition was not as strong as it was at other tournaments, the win was still a confidence booster for the team, as it was its first win of the spring season.

The team played a complete and consistent tournament. Freshman Malia Nam and sophomores Jennifer Chang and Amelia Garvey finished in the top 10 individually. Chang did not shoot above par on any day, finishing the weekend at two under par and tying for first place.  

The team will face much stronger opponents at the ASU Invite, many of whom are just behind USC in the rankings. Many of these teams are from the Pac-12 as well, so the event will be a solid preview of the upcoming Pac-12 tournament and could be indicative of possible outcomes further into the postseason as well. UCLA, Stanford, Arizona, Arizona State and Furman are among the nation’s top 25 teams present at the tournament, comprising a highly competitive field.

While the women were winning the Clover Cup, the men placed second at the National Invitational Tournament. Led by senior Justin Suh, who was one stroke short of a first-place finish, USC edged out Oklahoma for the second place, although it finished well behind the leader, Arizona State.  

Similar to the women’s competition at the Clover Cup, the men played against an overall weaker field with the exception of Arizona State and Oklahoma. However, the tournament was a strong recovery from the team’s struggles at its previous tournament, the Southern Highlands Collegiate, in which it placed 10th.  

Although its poor performance caused them to drop three spots in the rankings and looked like a cause for concern, it is important to note that the team was missing Suh, who was preparing for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. With Suh’s return last weekend, the team got back on track quickly to reclaim the No. 6 spot in the nation.  

This weekend, the men will face a field which includes Oklahoma as well as other ranked opponents in Cal and Pepperdine. Oklahoma won the tournament last season, and USC had a rough outing, finishing near the bottom of the pack. This year, however, USC will put forth a stronger overall team and will look to continue its performance from the NIT.  

As the regular season winds down, both the men’s and women’s teams hope to sharpen their play and begin to peak with the postseason looming. While the women are in a comfortable position, this weekend will be a real test in a highly competitive field. For the men, this tournament will be essential in preparing for postseason play.