Beavers Post Best Pac-12 Championship Finish In Program History

EUGENE, Ore. – The Oregon State women's golf team finished the Pac-12 Championship tied for second place on Wednesday, its best placing at the conference tournament in program history.
 
The Beavers shot the best score of the day, a 3-under 285, and concluded the event with a 13-over 296-296-285--877 at the par-72, 6,267-yard Eugene Country Club. They finished only behind No. 2 Oregon (6-over 870) and tied with No. 1 Stanford (13-over 877).
 
Oregon State's best previous finish at the Pac-12 Championship was sixth place during the 1992-93 season.
 
It was a total team effort for the Beavers, as none of the golfers had anything worse than a bogey in the soggy final round. Kelsey Webster, Ellie Slama and Issy Taylor all fired a 1-under 71, and Chayse Gomez carded an even-par 72 to make up the team's scoring.
 
All five Oregon State players finished in the Top 25.
 
Coverage of the Pac-12 Championship will be featured across Pac-12.com and Pac-12 social media channels, culminating with a special half-hour recap on Pac-12 Network that will air at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
 
"I'm extremely proud of this entire team," Oregon State head coach Dawn Shockley said. "They continue to trust the process and believe in themselves. Battling against weather is always a challenge and today they were patient and got it done. Each and every player contributed to this finish and we proved we belong at the top of this conference.
 
"I'm honestly a bit lost for words as it is still sinking in. This is the best finish we have ever had at conference, but Kelly (Kerkvliet) and I have so much belief in this team and we knew what they were capable of. We are looking forward to getting back to Corvallis and prepping for regionals."
 
Webster, who transferred to Oregon State from the University of Colorado before this season, was spectacular throughout the tournament, shooting a 2-over 73-74-71--218 to finish in a career-best tie for fifth place. Her best finish this season coming into the Pac-12 Tournament was a tie for 11th place at the Molly Collegiate Invitational.
 
She had 12 birdies through the three rounds, the most of any golfer in the field. The 1-under 71 in the final round was her fourth sub-par score of the season.
 
Slama jumped 16 spots up the leaderboard and into a tie for 13th place with a 5-over 75-75-71--221. She had 41 pars in the tournament, tied for the third most. Her best-ever finish at the Pac-12 Championship is a tie for eighth place in 2019.
 
The Pac-12 All-Conference Team was announced after the final round and Slama earned Honorable Mention recognition. She was selected to the Pac-12 All-Conference Team in 2019 and 2021.
 
Gomez, who competed at the Pac-12 Tournament for the first time, improved her score by two strokes each round and finished in a tie for 19th place with a 6-over 76-74-72--222. She had four birdies in the final round and eight overall in the tournament.
 
Taylor played her best in the final round and vaulted 16 spots up the leaderboard and into a tie for 23rd place with a 7-over 74-78-71--223. She finished in a tie for 20th place at last season's Pac-12 Tournament.
 
Redshirt freshman Madde Sund also finished in a tie for 23rd place with a 7-over 74-73-76--223. She had five birdies in the championship and was one of the few golfers with nothing worse than a bogey during the three rounds.
 
Oregon State, ranked 28th in the nation by Golfstat.com, will find out Wednesday, April 27 where it will play in the 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships. The official announcement will be at 1 p.m. on Golf Channel and streamed live on the Golf Channel website.
 
The 2022 Division I NCAA women's golf season will have six regional sites for the first time in its history this season. Each of the regional sites will now feature 12 teams and six individuals, with the top four teams and top two individuals (not on an advancing team) qualifying for the championships, which will be held for the second straight year at Grayhawk Golf Club (Raptor Course) in Scottsdale, Ariz., from May 20-25.
 
With the move to six regional sites from the previous four-site format, 72 teams will still qualify for regional play, with the number of individuals not on an advancing team increasing from 24 to 36.
 
Regional play for the 2022 Division I Women's Golf Championships will be held May 9-11, with play taking place at the Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif.; Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, Tenn.; The Championship Course at UNM in Albuquerque, N.M.; University of Michigan Golf Course in Ann Arbor, Mich.; Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.; and Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla.
 
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