TCU Women’s Golf 2022-23 Season Recap

TCU Women’s Golf advanced all the way to the NCAA Championship meet in the 2022-23 season where they finished top 20 in the nation. The Frogs earned a bid to the national championship thanks to a 4th-place finish in the Raleigh NCAA Regional. TCU also finished 3rd in both the Big 12 Match Play Tournament and the Big 12 Stroke Play Tournament in what was a phenomenal 2022-23 season.

Regular Season Overview

TCU started the season off with a second-place finish in a sixteen-team field at the Schooner Fall Classic in Norman, Oklahoma. Caitlyn Macnab led the way for the Frogs as she had an incredible tournament, finishing with a score of 10 under par, winning the individual title for the tournament. Macnab had a great 64-shot, 6-under-par performance in the final round to help catapult the Frogs all the way up from seventh to second place on the last day.

Lois Lau matched Macnab on the final day with a 64-shot, 6-under-par performance of her own to help lead TCU to a 12-under score on the day which was the best team score for a round in program history. Lau finished the tournament at 7-under-par, good for a tie for 5th place individually. Sofia Barroso Sa had a solid tournament as well with a total score of one over par, good for a tie for 27th place individually. The Frogs finished ahead of multiple Big 12 foes including, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Baylor thanks to a team score of 9 under par for the tournament.

The momentum carried over into the Barbara Nicklaus Tournament in Dublin, Illinois for the Frogs as Barroso Sa made it two straight tournaments with a Frog winning the individual title. Barroso Sa won with a total score of 13 over par across three rounds of competition to help lead TCU to a third-place finish in a field of eight teams.

Playing conditions were very tough as the Frogs were able to finish in third place, just two strokes back of second place, with a total, team score of 97 over par. Lau was again very solid for the Frogs as she secured a tie for 11th place individually with a total score of 24 over par on the week.

TCU next traveled to Medinah, Illinois for the Illini Invitational to compete in a strong field of 15 teams. The Frogs finished in a tie for 11th place with a total team score of 4 under par across three rounds of competition. Lau was the best individual performner in the tournament for the Frogs finishing 5 under par and in a tie for 19th place individually. Macnab had a strong tournament as well, finishing at 4 under par and in a tie for 23rd place. Barroso Sa was the final Frog to finish under par ending the tournament at 1 under par and in a tie for 35th place.

TCU would return to the Lone Star State for their next tournament as they traveled to San Marcos for the Jim West Invitational. In a 15 team field, the Frogs finished in a tie for 7th place with Ohio State thanks to a total team score of 5 over par across the three rounds of the tournament.

Macnab was the best individual performer for the Frogs finishing at 7 under par and in third place individually. Lois Lau was the second Frog to finish in the top 20 individuals shooting 1 under par for the tournament, good for a tie for 17th place. Barroso Sa was the final Frog in the top 50, she finished in a tie for 49th after shooting 8 over par through three rounds of the tournament.

TCU would have its best tournament of the season in the Battle at the Beach in Cabo San Lucas finishing second out of a field of 17 teams with a total team score of 8 under par. There was a significant gap between the top two teams and the rest of the field as the Frogs finished eight strokes ahead of Ole Miss and Vanderbilt who finished at even par in a tie for third place.

Lau had an excellent tournament in Cabo with a career best 11 under par through the 54 holes. Lau was one of two Frogs to finish inside the top 5 individuals as she came in second overall. Macnab was the other Frog in the top 5 as she finished at 6 under par and in fourth place. Barroso Sa made the top 30 individuals with a 4 over par performance that landed her in a tie for 29th place in the tournament.

An 18-hole tournament in Gold Canyon, Arizona was up next for the Frogs at the Match in the Desert. TCU had a tough day and would finish in 6th place out of a 6 team field with a team score of 7 over par. This poor overall day from the Frogs was despite an exceptional round from Macnab who shot two under and finished in 11th place individually. Lau and Barroso Sa both finished in a tie for 26th place as the next best two Frogs in the tournament at 2 over par. Sabrina Nguyen, who was competing just as an individual, also made the top 30 with a 75 shot, 3 over round.

A trip to the Bahamas for the Nexus Women’s Collegiate Classic was next on the schedule for the Frogs where they would not yet be able to bounce back from the Match in the Desert as they finished last in the field for the second straight tournament. Barroso Sa was the best player for the Frogs in the tournament, finishing in a tie for 35th place at 16 over par in the tournament. Macnab finished just a stroke behind Barroso Sa in a tie for 38th place at 17 over par. Conditions were very tough for the whole field as no team had a total score of under par and first place Wake Forest finished 11 shots over par.

TCU bounced back tournament in their next event as they traveled to Tucson, Arizona for the Mountain View Collegiate. The Frogs finished third in a field of 17 teams with a team score of 22 under par. Macnab was the top finisher for the Frogs as she was the third place individual finisher in the tournament at 14 under par, thanks in large part to a 65 shot first round. Barroso Sa was the second Frog to finish in the top 20 as she ended at 4 under par and in a tie for 17th place. Lau and Nguyen both finished under par on the tournament as well with both shooting 2 under par and finishing in a tie for 26th place.

The Frogs would wrap up their regular season at The Bruzzy in Ardmore, Oklahoma with a ninth place finish in a 15 team field. The Frogs finished at 54 over par in the tournament with some difficult conditions that had the winning team finish at 16 over par. Barroso Sa led the Frogs with a 4 over par performance that landed her in a tie for 16th place individually.

Lau joined Barroso Sa in the top 30 individuals with a score of 11 over par, finishing in a tie for 27th place. The Frogs were very close behind the three teams in front of them in the tournament as 6th place was just three strokes better than the Frogs and competed without Caitlyn Macnab who was TCU’s best golfer all year due to her competing in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Macnab had a great tournament and finished in a tie for 9th place at one over par.

Big 12 Tournament

The first event of the postseason for TCU was the Big 12 match play tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona. The No. 6 seeded Frogs went 2-2 on the first day of competition with a win over the number three seed, Iowa State, by a score of 3-1-1 and a win over the ninth seed, Kansas State, by a score of 3-1-1 as well.

The losses came at the hands of the number one seed in the tournament, Texas, by a score of 4-1 and to the number eight seed, Oklahoma, by a score of 3-2. Macnab was incredible in her return to the course winning all her matches on the first day of competition, providing the only win for TCU in their match against Texas.

TCU would go 2-1 on the second day of competition with wins over Oklahoma State and Texas Tech by scores of 3-1-1 and 3-2 respectively. The Frogs lost to Texas again by a score of 3-2 but would advance to the third place match in the last day of competition. Macnab picked up two more victories on the second day of competition to continue her excellent stretch of golf. Lau would be the next Frog to win all her matches in a day to lead the Frogs with 3 wins on the second day of competition.

The opponent for the Frogs in the third place match was the rival Baylor Bears. TCU took down their in state rivals not by a last second field goal from Griffin Kell or jump shot from Chuck O’Bannon, but by a score of 3-2, thanks in part to two one up wins from Lau and Sabrina Nguyen. Macnab was the third winner for the Frogs as she comfortably took care of business with a four and two win over her Baylor counterpart.

The Big 12 Tournament followed the Match Play tournament as the next postseason event for TCU where they would finish in the same position as the match play tournament: third place. Barroso Sa was the top individual finisher for TCU as she shot one over par through three rounds and finished in a tie for sixth place. Macnab joined her in the top ten, finishing in a tie for ninth place with a score of 2 over par.

Sheridan Clancy was the final top 20 finisher for the Frogs shooting 5 over par, good for a tie for 16th place individually. The second through fourth place teams were separated by two strokes as Baylor was the runner up in the tournament at 11 over par, followed by TCU at 12 over par, and Iowa State at 13 over par.

NCAA Tournament

TCU earned a bid to the Raleigh Regional with an opportunity to advance to the NCAA Championship as the top five teams in the regional advanced. After sitting in seventh place through two rounds, the Frogs stormed back on the last day of competition to finish fourth and earn an invite to the national championship.

The Frogs moved ahead of Purdue and Florida State with a team performance of 2 under par on the last round and were led by Lau who shot 70 on the last day. Lau finished at 2 under par overall and in a tie for sixth place individually in the regional. Macnab was close behind her and still in the top 15 golfers as she finished at one over par and in a tie for 14th place. Clancy joined Macnab and Lau in the top twenty shooting two over par in the regional to finish in a tie for 12th place.

The national championship took place in Scottsdale, Arizona with a field of thirty teams competing. TCU sat in 16th place after one round but would fall to 20th and stay through after the second and third rounds. It was still an excellent performance to cap off a great season for the Frogs as they shot 22 over as a team.

Barroso Sa was the top performer for the Frogs as she had been many times down the stretch of the season, shooting one over through the three rounds of team competition and qualified for the individual national championship round. The true freshman shot very well at one over par in the final round of the individual competition to finish in a tie for 37th place overall.

Macnab was the next best finisher for the Frogs at 60th individually through the three team rounds with a solid score of 5 over par. Clancy and Lau had strong showings as well, finishing in ties for 77th and 89th with scores of 7 over and 9 over respectively.

Honors and Awards

All Big 12 Team: Caitlyn Macnab

Arnold Palmer Cup Team International Selection: Caitlyn Macnab

A Look Ahead

The Frogs have a great opportunity to build off of a very successful 2022-23 season returning standout freshman Barroso Sa and veteran Lau. Clancy will be back for her sophomore season as well. The Frogs have also signed transfer Meagan Winans from Oklahoma who was the 6A Player of the Year in Texas while in high school to help offset the loss of Macnab to the transfer portal.

Barroso Sa has the chance to be the top golfer for the Frogs next season as she came on very well late in the season for the Frogs and was the only golfer for TCU to qualify for the individual national championship round.