PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – No. 27 Arkansas women’s golf put the golf community on notice with an impressive second place showing at the Carmel Cup played at Pebble Beach Golf Links with a 14-under 1066 in the six-count-five format. Freshman Maria José Marin played in her first collegiate tournament and displayed why she is a Golf Channel Preseason All-American. After a 68 in round three, José Marin fired off an 11-under 205 (67-70-68) over the weekend to match the Arkansas freshman 54-hole record and round out in second place in the field.

Arkansas ended the tournament strong with a 1-under 359 in Sunday’s final round of play to beat No. 4 Texas A&M (-10, 1070) by four strokes, while finishing eight shots behind No. 1 Stanford (-22, 1058). The Hogs finished under par in all three rounds and bested last year’s score by 38 strokes (Arkansas’ 2022 Carmel Cup score was 371-366-371=1108). In a loaded field, Arkansas finished ahead of four preseason top 25 teams and all SEC squads.

José Marin’s 11-under 205 (67-70-68) showing not only tied the freshman 54-hole record set by Emily Tubert at the Las Vegas Collegiate in 2010, but it went down as the sixth lowest 54-hole total in Arkansas history. José Marin was dominant on Sunday with a bogeyless third round behind 14 pars and four birdies. She finished the weekend with just three bogeys compared to 14 birdies and 37 pars and was four strokes back from winning the Carmel Cup.

Miriam Ayora picked up from where she left off last year with an impressive 70 on Sunday. Ayora was even through the front nine and came up with three birdies, including big ones on holes 15 and 17 to finish under par for the second time during the weekend. The senior finished with a 1-under 215 (71-74-70) to tally a tie for 13th.

Kajal Mistry logged the third lowest 54-hole total among the Hogs, logging an even 216 (71-69-76). On Sunday, Mistry was 6-over par through 12 holes, but found her groove in the final six holes with five pars and a birdie on hole 18. Mistry tied for 16th in the field and finished the weekend with 13 birdies.

Reagan Zibilski rounded out in 21st place in the field with a 2-over 218 (72-72-74). Zibilski had 14 pars and one birdie, but three bogeys put her over par on the day. The sophomore logged 42 pars over the weekend.

Julia Gregg completed the tournament with a 3-over 219 (72-72-75) to tie for 22nd. Gregg was 6-over through the front nine on Sunday but was on fire through the back nine to tally three birdies and six pars for a 33. The fifth-year senior had 11 birdies over the weekend.

Ela Anacona finished with a par or under round for the second straight time with a 72 in the third round. Although she had four bogeys in the final round, her four birdies put her back at par. Anacona tied for 25th with a 5-over 221 (78-71-72).

SHAUNA’S STATEMENTS

“It’s such a special weekend to start our season at Pebble Beach,” said head coach Shauna Taylor. “We have an incredible group of young women on our team this year, all 10 of them are just unbelievably awesome to be around. I knew coming into this week, there was this support, they had fun and they genuinely worked together. We got off to a great start. Obviously, the goal is to win, but to get a competition under our belt since we have only been in school for like seven days, and to come here and get off to a great start is a sign of some really good things to come for our season ahead.

“I’m really proud of Maria [José Marin] and her freshman debut. To be able to watch her in a Razorback uniform after recruiting her for so long was super special and I’m really excited about her future at Arkansas. This weekend’s performance was a complete team effort, and I’m really proud of their start this year, as it will give us some momentum coming into our home event in a couple weeks.”

FINAL SCORES

2 – Maria José Marin – 67-70-68=205 (-11)

T13 – Miriam Ayora – 71-74-70=215 (-1)

T16 – Kajal Mistry – 71-69-76=216 (E)

21 – Reagan Zibilski – 72-72-74=218 (+2)

T22 – Julia Gregg – 72-72-75=219 (+3)

T25 – Ela Anacona – 78-71-72=221 (+5)

FINAL TEAM SCORES – 6, COUNT 5 (GOLF CHANNEL PRESEASON RANKINGS)
1 – No. 1 Stanford – 352-354-352-=1058 (-22)

2 – No. 27 Arkansas – 353-354-359=1066 (-14)

3 – No. 4 Texas A&M – 364-350-356=1070 (-10)

4 – No. 19 Vanderbilt – 364-368-355=1087 (+7)

5 – No. 12 Mississippi State – 364-358-367=1089 (+9)

6 – No. 32 Oklahoma State – 370-36-3673=1100 (+20)

7 – No. 26 Texas Tech – 371-364-370=1105 (+25)

8 – Oklahoma – 387-370-378=1125 (+45)

UP NEXT
Following a month off from competition, Arkansas will host the Blessings Collegiate Invitational from Monday, Oct. 2 to Wednesday, Oct. 4. Admission is free and coverage of the tournament will be broadcast on the Golf Channel.