An eagle on No. 16 was the key to Gabby Woods finishing second in the nation at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championship Thursday in Eureka, Mo.
Woods drove the 240 yard hole, hitting between numerous bunkers and just shy of the green. The ball rolled within four or five feet of the hole. She sank the putt to move to 2-under, where she shared national runnerup honors behind champion Olivia Gronborg of Nova Southeastern.
The University of Findlay junior then entered the team match play portion of the tournament 9 a.m. (EST) this morning as her Oilers began defense of their 2022 national championship.
Findlay faced Lynn University in the opening quarterfinal round. Lynn is located in Boca Raton, Fla.
At this point, it’s win and move on for the team, with two matches Friday and two more Saturday to succesfully defend their title.
A Clinton-Massie High School graduate, Woods is always looking forward when she’s on the golf course. Forget the last hole. Play the next one.
But when she entered a playoff at last week’s NCAA Division II East Regional Women’s Golf Championship, the Clinton-Massie graduate looked back.
Way back … three years ago, in fact.
Woods and Makenna Jones of National Trail were in a playoff at the Division II Southwest District Girls Golf Championship at Pipestone Oct. 2, 2019. Tied at 76, Woods beat Jones in the playoff and went to state for the first time.
At the East Regional, Woods, a junior at the University of Findlay, won a three-player extra hole by carding a birdie for the East Regional individual championship.
“I was aware that I had a chance after 16, but I did not know that making a par on 18 gave me a great chance to win outright,” Woods said. “After watching the groups come in and knowing that I was in a playoff, my nerves stayed surprisingly calm. I had the 2019 high school district tournament playoff to thank for that.”
Once in the playoff, Woods stayed the course, literally.
“For the playoff hole on No. 1, my thinking was to play it how I had all week,” she said. “I wasn’t going to change my game plan within the playoff just because of the situation. When my birdie putt dropped, I kind of had to realize where I was and what I had just done. I was so focused (on making that putt) in that moment that I had forgotten what that putt going in just did for me. After I had relaxed and took a breath, I was extremely happy.”
Woods and her Findlay teammates are back in the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championship at Fox Run Golf Course in Eureka, Mo. this week to defend their 2022 national championship.
Woods finished xxxxxxxxxxx in the individual portion of the tournament.
“My expectation is to do what I have been lately, playing relaxed, one shot at a time. I feel that if I not only do that but believe in my game then I will be where I want to be at the end of this tournament,” said Woods. “As a team, we expect to win it again, but take the approach of focusing on ourselves and how we play rather than those within our group. We know that if we limit the big numbers, give ourselves looks and ultimately trust in our abilities, we can do what we did last year once again.”
Findlay xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In Missouri, Woods and the Oilers went to a St. Louis Cardinals baseball game Monday night. Over the next three days, they xxxxxxxxx the stroke play portion of the tournament.
“Words cannot describe how exciting all of this is right now,” said Woods, who was xxxxxxx in last season’s national tournament. “Having the opportunity to travel, play golf with close friends and compete at a national level is unmatched. As a team and individually, we continue to improve each day, believing in not only our own abilities but our teammates as well.”
On the course, Woods shows few emotions. She may crack a smile occassionally but there’s little else to determine what her scorecard reveals.
“Although I do not express it nor show it, I always have the belief and want to win,” she admits.
