Maricopa, Ariz. – Western Carolina women's golf sophomore
Elizabeth Lohbauer and true freshman
Brie Mapanao helped the Catamounts cap a historic 2022-23 season as the duo finished tied for third to pace the WCU scoring five as play concluded Sunday at the par-72, 6,318-yard Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club in the inaugural National Golf Invitational presented by GolfWeek.
Among the leaders over the past three days after opening with a career-low tying round of 68 on Friday, Lohbauer fired a final-round 75 to post a 1-over par tournament score of 217. Mapanao carded a second even-par round of 72 to climb four spots into the tie with her Catamount teammate at 1-over par for the event, her third-lowest 54-hole score.
Western Carolina ended the inaugural NGI in seventh place, just five strokes outside the Top Five with a 54-hole score of 901 (294-306-301).
Lohbauer countered five bogeys with two of her team-best eight birdies on Sunday to shoot a 3-over par 75. Opening on the back nine, the Venice, Fla., product played her first six holes at 1-under par after a birdie on the par-4 10th followed by five-consecutive pars. Three bogeys between holes No. 16 through 18 left her making the turn for home at 2-over for the round. Lohbauer was poised to finish at 2-over for the day thanks to her second birdie on the par-4 eighth, but a bogey on her 54th hole left her at 75 for the day and 1-over 217 for the tournament.
Mapanao was WCU's biggest gainer over the final 18 holes, countering a pair of bogeys with two birdies and 16 pars for a quiet round. Both birdies came on the back nine where she opened the day, making the turn to the front at 1-under par. Mapanao scored par on eight of her final nine holes but a bogey on the par-4 eighth relegated her back even.
WCU fifth-year senior
Madison Isaacson slipped two positions in the final standings into a tie for 31st overall after shooting a 5-over par 77 on Sunday. Two-over par at the turn, Isaacson managed to sit at plus-2 with three holes to play before a double-bogey on the par-5 seventh and a bogey on her final hole left her at 77 for the day and 230 for the round.
All told, Mapanao carded par on 39 of the 54 holes of the three-day tournament, tied for second in the field, with Isaacson finishing with 38 and Lohbauer posting 37. Lohbauer also paced the field in par-4 scoring, finishing 3-under par (3.90).
Rounding out WCU's scoring five were senior
Victoria Ladd in 47th at 237 and sophomore
Kaitlyn Wingnean in 48th three strokes in arrears at 240. Ladd posted two of her three birdies on the front nine coming home on Sunday, while Wingnean carded her best round of the tournament at 6-over par 78 and charted three of her seven birdies of the event on the last 18 holes of the season.
Penn State cruised to the inaugural National Golf Invitational team championship by 11 strokes over Big Ten Conference counterpart Iowa, 878-to-889, as the Nittany Lions were five strokes better than the runner-up Hawkeyes Sunday. Southern Conference-foe Mercer climbed into a third-place finishing position just a stroke outside of second at 890. Texas State advanced two spots on Sunday to finish fourth at 892 with Saturday's big gainer, Santa Clara, falling three positions into fifth at 896.
Iowa's Shannyn Vogler overtook 36-hole leader Michelle Cox from Penn State, carding a final-round 1-under par 71 to shoot 211, two strokes better than Cox at 213. WCU's tandem of Lohbauer and Mapanao was six strokes off the pace in a two-way tie for third.
The conclusion of the invitation-only tournament ends the historic 2022-23 season for Western Carolina women's golf and marked the final collegiate event for fifth-year senior
Madison Isaacson. The Catamounts won an unprecedented four team titles in 2022-23 and made just the program's third postseason appearance.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount women's golf and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@catamounts, @CatamountWGolf).
2023 National Golf Invitational
Final | Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club
1 – Penn State – 288 – 297 – 293 = 878 (+14)
2 – Iowa – 289 – 302 – 298 = 889 (+25)
3 – Mercer – 293 – 300 – 297 = 890 (+26)
4 – Texas State – 294 – 303 – 295 = 892 (+28)
5 – Santa Clara – 299 – 291 – 306 = 896 (+32)
6 – UC-Riverside – 296 – 298 – 305 = 899 (+35)
7 – Western Carolina – 294 – 306 - 301 = 901 (+37)
8 – Middle Tennessee – 291 – 309 - 302 = 902 (+38)
9 – Grand Canyon – 298 – 312 – 301 = 911 (+47)
10 – Seattle – 308 – 302 – 302 = 912 (+48)
T7 – Western Carolina – 294 – 306 = 600 (+24)
T3 –
Brie Mapanao – 72 – 73 – 72 = 217 (+1)
T3 –
Elizabeth Lohbauer – 68 – 74 – 75 = 217 (+1)
T31 –
Madison Isaacson – 75 – 78 – 77 = 230 (+14)
47 –
Victoria Ladd – 79 – 81 – 77 = 237 (+21)
48 –
Kaitlyn Wingnean – 80 – 82 – 78 = 240 (+24)
