California Baptist University
WAC Championship
Hailey Loh Captures 2023 WAC Women's Golf Individual Championship
4/25/2023 6:18:00 PM | Women's Golf
BLAINE, WASH. –Junior Hailey Loh made history on Tuesday, becoming the first Lancer golfer in program history to claim a conference championship. She defeated three other golfers in a sudden victory playoff after they finished the regulation 54-holes in a four-way tie. Loh punched her ticket to the playoff after an exceptionally challenging final round that saw only one player shoot under par, and Loh and one other playoff competitor shoot even par.
The four playoff competitors started back at the first hole, planning to play consecutive holes until just one player remained. Playoff participants from Seattle U and Southern Utah were eliminated after the first hole, pitting Loh straight-up against Jennifer Herbst from Sam Houston. Herbst found the sand on hole two, pushing her into a bogey. Loh played a clean 56th hole, sinking a short putt for par to earn the outright individual crown.
"Hailey Loh played awesome down the stretch and really excelled when the pressure was on," said Head Coach Marc Machado after the final round. "She made a clutch birdie putt to extend the playoff and then made a smart par to finish it out. She has grown a lot as a player in her time at CBU."
Loh was consistent throughout a tough tournament, shooting 72-74-72 for a final score of 2-over par (218) in a tournament that saw just six rounds under par in 180 rounds of golf played. She made her strides predominantly on the par 4s and 5s, where she was a top two and three scorer, respectively. She recorded 10 birdies during her rounds, tied for second most in the tournament.
Damini Law Ghanshyani was the next highest-finishing Lancer, closing the tournament at 8-over par (224) to tie for 11th place overall. Haruka Shintani came in a three-way tie for 13th after turning in a final round score of 74 to finish the competition at 10-over (226). Samantha Dizon and Sofia Chabon rounded out the Lancer five, turning in tournament scores of 14-over (230) and 15-over (231).
The team title was claimed by Sam Houston, who led wire-to-wire in Washington, finishing with a cumulative score of +19 (883). Seattle U had a solid final round and jumped two spots to finish runner-up at +27 (891). New Mexico State finished its final competition as a WAC member in third place, just one shot behind the Redhawks at +28 (892). The Lancers fell two spots in the final standings from Monday night, closing the tournament in fourth place with a team score of +31 (895).
"I am very proud of our TEAM. Our goal was to be in the last group on the final day. We wanted to be in the mix and part of the conversation with 18 holes to play, and we did just that. This is a step in the right direction for our program. This is our first official year competing as a TEAM in the WAC, and it felt great. We know this is a step that will help us in the future."
With her win on Tuesday, Loh has qualified for an individual bid to the NCAA Regionals round, which takes place on May 8-10. The fields for the six Regional sites will officially be announced on The Golf Channel and NCAA.com at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time on Wednesday, April 26.
Players Mentioned
