By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
No. 13 Baylor women’s golf knocked at the door once again but came up just shy of a conference trophy.
The Bears shot an 11-over 875 to come in second place at the Big 12 Championship Sunday at the Dallas Athletic Club in Dallas. Baylor has now finished in the top three nine times since 2012. It brought home hardware in 2015 for the program’s lone Big 12 championship.
The green and gold was led by senior Hannah Karg, who finished tied for sixth individually, thanks to her 1-over 217. Karg was named to the all-tournament team alongside freshman Silje Ohma, who finished tied for ninth place after a 2-over 218.
Baylor has now had multiple players make the Big 12 All-Tournament team for the fifth time in the last six tournaments. Ohma also became the fifth player to notch all-tournament honors as a freshman under head coach Jay Goble, joining Hayley Davis, Lauren Taylor, Diane Baillieux and Gurleen Kaur.
Karg said she was pleased with her weekend and she left it all on the course for her last Big 12 Championship.
“I think this tournament showed me that I can play consistently,” Karg said. “I think overall, we did fine as a team. I still think that there are bigger trophies ahead of us, and I’m just looking forward to finishing up postseason and my time at Baylor.”
Karg was a member of the team during the shortened 2019-20 season, so she will have an extra year of eligibility if she wants to return.
No. 23 Oklahoma State University finished seven shots ahead of Baylor to win the Big 12 team championship after a battle on the back nine Saturday. The Bears found trouble at the 16th hole which allowed the Cowgirls to pull away by the end of the weekend. The Pokes carded a 4-over 868 following Sunday’s final round.
Battling rain and cold weather, Karg opened Sunday with four-straight pars before a bogey at No. 5. She bounced back with a pair of birdies at Nos. 8 and 9 to wrap up the front nine. That seemed to carry on, as Karg knocked in two more birdies at Nos. 13 and 15 to knot her into a tie for second place on the individual leaderboard.
The Hamburg, Germany, native stumbled at No. 16 when she putted in a triple-bogey six to fall all the way back to even par. Karg finished her weekend with a bogey at No. 17 and a par at 18 for a round-ending 73.
Like Karg, Ohma started her day on a strong note, as she sank six-straight pars before a bogey at No. 7. Ohma moved into the back nine at just 1-over and rolled in a birdie at No. 10 to bring her back to even par. The native of Bergen, Norway stayed solid until she found trouble toward the end of her day.
Ohma suffered a double bogey at No. 16 and bogey at No. 18 to close Sunday at 3-over 75.
Sophomore Sera Hasegawa came in a tie for 13th in what was her first Big 12 Championship. Hasegawa dropped in a birdie at the opening hole before recording a bogey at No. 7 to drop back to even-par on the front nine. She bounced back from a bogey at No. 11 to get back into red figures, courtesy of an eagle at No. 13.
The vaunted par-3 16th hole also gave Hasegawa trouble, as she recorded a double bogey. Hasegawa wrapped up her Sunday with a bogey at No. 18 to finish with a 2-over 74.
Another Bear to burst out of the gate strong was junior Britta Snyder, as she put up three-straight birdies. Snyder came back to Earth with bogeys at Nos. 4, 6 and 8 to finish the front nine at even par. Snyder suffered another bogey at No. 11 but evened it out with a birdie at 13. She wound up concluding her round with a double-bogey and a pair of bogeys at Nos. 14 and 16 to put her in a tie for 16th.
Junior Rosie Belsham finished her weekend with a 5-over 77 Sunday. Belsham also started off hot with two birdies at Nos. 3 and 8, and she reached a score of 2-under before a double at No. 9. That setback ignited a rough stretch for Belsham, as she played the back nine at 5-over par with five bogeys between holes 10 and 17. Individually, Belsham finished tied for 18th place.
Goble said his team’s resiliency showed over the weekend. After finishing tied for fourth Friday, the Bears battled back to secure second place in the event.
“Not only are they great, but they’re fighters, and that’s what we need moving forward for the next two events,” Goble said. “We have to fight to earn our spot in the NCAAs and, when we get there, we need to get in that top eight and make a run. I feel like we can do that.”
Baylor will receive its regional destination with the NCAA women’s golf selection show, which starts at noon Wednesday on the Golf Channel.
