Arkansas' Maria Jose Marin becomes third Razorback to win NCAA women's individual title

Arkansas' Maria Jose Marin extended a streak of stellar NCAA championship rounds, this one providing admission into a pantheon of Razorback golfers.

The 18-year-old sophomore from Colombia posted a final round of three-under-par 69 on the North Course at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., on Monday, her eighth straight round of par or better in the last two NCAA Championships, this one giving her an individual title.

She joined Stacy Lewis (2007) and Maria Fassi (2019) as Arkansas women to have won an NCAA individual championship.

“Welcome to the club!!!” Lewis posted on X. “Go Hogs!!!”

Marin completed 72 holes in 12-under-par 276, two ahead of runner-up Mirabel Ting of Florida State. Her victory came a year after she tied for fourth at nationals.

“That last putt, it was nerve-wracking, I’m not going to lie,” Marin said of her short par putt at the 18th hole. “I didn’t know what was happening out there, but I was focused on my game, not focused on what the others were doing. It meant a lot, draining that putt. Three under is a great round to finish with. I’m super happy right now.

“I just tried to play it hole by hole. I knew it was going to be a challenge today, because of the mix of emotions, the conditions. Playing in the afternoon is way different than playing in the morning. It was going to be a little more windy and the greens a little more bumpy. I trust my game on every single shot, so I knew I was capable of doing a great round.”

Marin, who came into the competition 10th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, was the player of the year in the Southeastern Conference, an Annika Award finalist, and a winner of two previous tournaments. This victory gained her an exemption into the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills beginning May 29.

“I didn’t know the win gave me a spot in the U.S. Women’s Open,” she said. “This is the reward for all the hard work and how I did in the fall and the spring season.”

She played bogey-free golf over the final two rounds, her last bogey coming on the 18th hole of the second round. She was instrumental in boosting Arkansas to sixth place on the team leaderboard and one of eight to advance to the team championship, a match-play event over the next two days.

Arkansas is not the favorite, however. Stanford, the defending NCAA champions and the No. 1-ranked team in the country entering the postseason, ran away with the stroke-play portion of the team event, posting a score of 27-under par, 21 strokes better than runner-up Oregon. The other five teams to advance to match play were Northwestern, Florida State, USC, Texas and Virginia.

The quarterfinals and semifinals of the team competition will be played Tuesday with the finals slated for Wednesday.