Arkansas sophomore Maria José Marin, the No. 11 amateur women’s golfer in the world, won the individual title at the Division I NCAA National Championship, defeating Florida State’s Mirabel Ting by two strokes.
Marin was mostly propelled by a sensational third round that saw her shoot -7. Marin made birdies on five of her first seven holes that day and didn’t drop a single shot. Throughout the four rounds she only had six total bogeys on her way to a four-day -12 score.
Marin finished each round at even par or better, shooting -2 in the opening 18, then following that up with an even par round. On the final day, Marin closed well, shooting -3.
Marin was finished relatively early, and had to withstand a furious back nine from the Annika Award winner Ting. Despite a bad front nine, Ting shot -5 on the back, making birdies on 14, 15 and 18. It was just a bit too late.
Despite the incredible effort from Marin, Arkansas fell short in match play, losing 3-2 to Northwestern. Marin lost her anchor match to Hsin Tai Lin.
With the win, Marin joins an exclusive club alongside Arkansas legends Maria Fassi and Stacy Lewis as Razorbacks to win the individual championship.
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