Arizona Women’s Golf Wins the 2018 National Championship

The Arizona Women’s Golf team completed its magical run in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, as the Wildcats win the National Championship!

The Arizona Women’s Golf team has made quite a remarkable run in the NCAA Tournament this year! On he brink of elimination, the Wildcats saved their season thanks to Bianca Pagdanganan’s eagle on Monday, two days later, they’re National Champions!

When the going gets tough, the tough Bear Down! That’s exactly what the Wildcats did over the course of the past few days as they completed the unprecedented run in the NCAA Tournament.

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If you haven’t been paying attention, let’s do a quick recap!

On Monday, the Wildcats squared off with Baylor. Trailing, and needing a big play on the final hole, Pagdananan made one of the most memorable putts to keep Arizona’s season alive, extending the match, sending it to a playoff.

That’s where the Wildcats would eventually take the victory, securing the eighth seed, and advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals.

That would lead to another epic showdown, this time with No. 1 seed, UCLA. Once again, Arizona responded, and kept their magical run alive, defeating the top-ranked Bruins by a 3-2 final.

Later that day, the Wildcats would take on Stanford, another highly-regarded opponent within their own conference.

Arizona would jump out to a dominating lead early on, where they would eventually cruise to a convincing, 4-1 win, securing a spot to vie for the National Championship.

On Wednesday, it was for all the marbles. Could Arizona continue their Cinderella-like run and win their third National title?

Once again going with a line-up of; Yu-Sang Hou, Gigi Stoll, Bianca Pagdanganan, Sandra Nordaas and Haley Moore, they were going to have a tough challenge with No. 2 Alabama.

Hou teed off first, and went back and forth on the front nine, with neither competitor able to take the lead. She would eventually win four-straight holes on the back nine, winning four and three, securing the first point for Arizona.

Next up was Stoll. After her dominating performance yesterday, she would unfortunately fall behind early in this one, never being able to recover, and dropping the match by a four and three final. Alabama tied the match at 1-1.

Playing great golf of late, Pagdanganan wouldn’t quite have the same luck in this one. The first nine holes were really close, as both her and Alabama’s Cheyenne Knight seemingly changed leads. That when things fell apart for her on the back nine holes, as Knight would cruise to a four and two victory, making it 2-1 Alabama.

In the fourth match of the day, the Wildcats needed a big win to prevent the Crimson Tide from becoming champions. Nordaas would get the start here, gaining an early lead, and never really looking back. Alabama would make things close, extending the match all the way to the 18th hole, but luckily the Wildcats were able to escape, winning one up, and tying the match at 2-2.

The championship all came down to Arizona’s Moore, arguably the Wildcats’ best golfer. Moore squared off with Alabama’s Lakareber Abe in what would end up being a dramatic finish.

Moore would take a rather early two stroke lead, but that didn’t last long, as Abe would win three consecutive holes to gain the lead by one stroke after the 12th. On the next hole, Moore would tie the match, but unfortunately, she was unable to take advantage of the next few subsequent holes to regain the lead.

Moore would win the 17th, and headed to the 18th with a stroke lead, hoping to secure the schools’ third championship. Unfortunately, Moore would drop the 18th, as Abe would extend the match into a sudden death playoff.

Replaying the 18th, Moore would hit a great first shot that would land directly in the fairway. Her second shot would be a bit tougher however, as it landed just off the green. Luckily, Abe’s second shot would land in the sand trap just in front of the green.

Abe would hit a great shot that would barely miss, setting her up for a chance at a birdie. Moore would also have a great approach, setting up for a historic finish.

With a chance for birdie, Abe would attempt her putt, but the ball just curved to the right. Moore conceding Abe’s par putt, she would have the opportunity to win the championship if she makes her putt.

For all the marbles, Moore would stroke a perfect cup that would find the center of the cup. Arizona would win the match 3-2, becoming National Champions!

The putt would give the Wildcats their third championship in program history, and their first since 2000!

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At Zona Zealots, we are incredibly proud of our Wildcats, as they are the 2018 National Champions! What a tremendous run and performance! Bear Down, Arizona!