Aggie women take 10th at Stanford Regional in dream season

The New Mexico State University women’s golf team had one of its strongest seasons in recent memory.

Let’s take a look at what the Aggie women were able to achieve this spring.

• They scored their first top 10 finish at an NCAA Regional tournament since 2016. They finished tied for 10^th at the recently completed Stanford Regional after three days of action in northern California.
• Senior Pun Chanachai, from Bangkok, Thailand, also narrowly missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships as an individual.
• Adding to the glow of the season, the Aggie women also won the WAC championship.

At Stanford, Chanachai led the Aggies, shooting a 2-over par 215 over three days and finishing tied for 18^th.

She was the fifth-lowest individual not on a team qualifying for the NCAA Championships. Only the top six teams and top three individuals not on those qualifying teams go to the NCAA Championships, which will be held at May 21-26 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

On the final day, Chanachai shot an even-par 71 and was the only player in the entire field to not record a bogey during the third round. Now, that is consistency.

During the first day at Stanford, teammate Karen Miyamoto, from Chiba, Japan, put on quite a show, shooting a blistering 69. How good was she? Miyamoto birdied five of the first nine holes.

Unfortunately, she cooled off and finished with an 8-over 221 over three days. Miyamoto finished tied for 45^th.

Alex Quihuis, from Tucson, Arizona, finished tied for 52^nd with a 10-over 223, while Alison Gastelum, from Chihuahua, Mexico, finished 61^st with a 12-over 225.

All solid efforts against a strong field.

Arizona State will serve as the host of the NCAA Championships and GOLF Channel will provide live coverage of the final three days on May 24-26.

It seems like the only thing the Aggies didn’t do this season was qualify for the Big Dance. It’s a shame – golf fans across the nation would have liked this bunch.