No. 9 USC traveled to Arizona State’s Papago Golf Club to participate in the PING/ASU Invitational from March 28-30. This tournament, featuring 54 holes of golf, was host to a wide range of worthy competitors: namely, No. 1 Stanford, No. 4 UCLA and No. 11 Northwestern. The Trojans ultimately tied for 12th place out of 17 teams, capping off the weekend with a lackluster final round.

USC began the first day of the tournament with a solid showing. Led by freshman Bailey Shoemaker’s 1-under par, the Trojans finished the day at 3-over par. On the second day of tournament play, USC led a strong charge and shot a combined 1-under par.

This effort on the second day was spearheaded by senior Christine Wang, who led a strong campaign on the back nine to card a 2-under-par score for the day. This play, combined with the 1-under performances of Shoemaker and sophomore Catherine Park, allowed USC to rise into the 10th place position with one more day of play.

However, the Trojans could not keep up the momentum heading into the third and final day of the tournament. Shoemaker was hit with two triple bogeys on the front nine portion of the course, leading to an 8-over score for the day. Similarly, Wang’s scorecard also accumulated several bogeys and led to a 7-over.

Despite the challenges that arose on the final day, there was one bright performer for the Trojans. Park was able to string together a solid and consistent round at even par. Park would ultimately finish the week even, placing her tied for 21st individually.

“I think in general, we just have to sharpen up a little bit,” said associate head coach Tiffany Joh in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “This happened at this very tournament this same time last year, and we were able to use it to motivate us going into the postseason stretch.”

While the Trojans will need motivation moving forward, they will also need to work diligently on some weaker aspects of their game. Specifically, Joh mentioned USC needs to focus more on its short game.

Furthermore, the Trojans were missing a vital part of their lineup with the absence of junior Amari Avery. 

“[Avery’s] presence is definitely missed, but, regardless of who’s in the lineup, this team has so much depth [that] we should really be able to go out and compete,” Joh said. 

The strength of USC’s lineup has been tested time and time again. Joh cited USC’s win at the Stanford Intercollegiate in the fall season, where both Wang and Avery were missing from the lineup. Given the depth of the lineup, USC is able to compete with the best teams in the nation, even when missing key players.

USC has some excitement to look forward to. Three Trojans – Avery, Shoemaker and Park – will tee it up at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. This tournament, widely considered to be one of the most coveted and prestigious amateur golf events, will feature the world’s top golfers in Augusta, Georgia.

“I think for them, [the Augusta National Women’s Amateur is a] really good preparation for the end of the year and also for their careers going forward for whenever they turn pro,” Joh said. “I think all three of our girls have a really good chance to win.”

Shortly following this, USC will be back on the road for the Silverado Showdown, which will serve as a final test for the Trojans before the Pac-12 championship. The Silverado Showdown will take place April 8-10 at the Silverado Country Club in Napa, California.