Arizona And Northwestern Take College Honors At The Home Of Golf

The third and final day of the St Andrews Links Collegiate event saw Northwestern University and the University of Arizona crowned men's and women's champions respectively at the Old Course.

The second running of the trans-Atlantic tournament saw the University of St Andrews represent the UK against Northwestern, Arizona and Howard University - the first Historically Black College and University (HBCU) to take part.

Two days of individual strokeplay on the Jubilee Course at St Andrews resulted in Northwestern's Ashley Yun winning the women's event and Arizona's Zach Pollo being crowned men's champion.

And it was the same two colleges who were left to fight it out for the team titles on the final day with a matchplay competition on the Old Course played in some traditional Scottish autumn weather with plenty of rain.

In the men's event, Northwestern took the spoils with a 4.5-1.5 victory, but Arizona came out on top in the women's competition as they grabbed the trophy by the same 4.5-1.5 scoreline.

Perhaps tellingly given the conditions, the Northwestern men's team contained three Scots in the form of Cameron Adam, Atchie Finnie and Nial Shiels-Donegan, while head coach David Inglis also originates from Edinburgh.

“It’s very special and any time you are lifting a trophy in St Andrews it’s very meaningful," said Inglis. "Ultimately, this is what we were playing for, to get into the championship match and win on the Old Course.

"We’re just thrilled obviously and for Cameron Adam in particular because his parents have never come over to the States to watch him play so for them to see him play and hole the winning putt for us to win was pretty special.”

Arizona women’s head coach Giovana Maymon was full of praise for her players as they battled through conditions not exactly what they usually play in back home in the desert.

“My players had such a fight all day and I couldn’t be more proud of them," said Maymon. "At the beginning of the year we said we were going to be the toughest team out here, regardless of the conditions and that’s what they were today.

"We knew we had to enjoy it and appreciate where we are but also compete and do our best. What this event does for college kids is just unbelievable and I hope everybody gets to appreciate this.”

Home advantage counted for St Andrews as the men's and women's teams both beat their counterparts from Howard to grab third place in both events.

“First and foremost, what an event this has been," said St Andrews head coach Ian Muir.

"We’re really lucky that we are the University of St Andrews and we get to do this all the time in the Home of Golf. There’s always pressure being the home team but we’ve got eight new players so there’s quite a bit of newness in the team.

"It’s been a really good benchmarking exercise for them to understand where they are as a golfer and how they can improve. It’s been brilliant."

Those sentiments were echoed by head coach Sam Puryear of Howard, whose golf team was only established in 2019 with the support of NBA star Steph Curry.

“At the end of the day, just being here is a win," said Puryear. "The students got an experience that I promise you they will never ever forget for the rest of their lives. They played exceptionally well, I’m so proud of them.

"It was a competitive match and we had multiple kids under par who really gave themselves a chance in some close matches.”