Quick 9: Atypical Trophies VII
Spring 2025
One of the best things about college golf is the sheer number of tournaments hosted around the country each season. Each one has its own unique style and array of atypical trophies and awards. Some will make excellent additions to trophy cases while others will adorn practice facility walls. All of them tell a story.
Won’t you join me for a picturesque quick 9?
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1. BATTLE OF THE BORDER [Feb 8, 2025]
Austin Peay wins Battle of the Border with Murray State for the second year in a row. This match is only a few years old, but has provided some great golf. Two team matches aren’t nearly as prevalent as they used to be before the rise of regular season tournaments in the ~1970s, so seeing these which come with a cool trophy is a cool bonus.
2. BRUIN WAVE INVITATIONAL [Feb 24-25, 2025]
UCLA women bounce back in a big way to win their home event after losing another senior to the pro ranks. The Bruins ran away with a 22 stroke victory thanks to freshman Francesca Fiorellini stepping up in a big way. Not only did she capture her first medalist honors, the Italian ended on a birdie spree to break the tournament scoring record set 15 years prior by Pepperdine’s Danielle Kang.
3. TULANE CLASSIC [Mar 9-11, 2025]
From blue to Green Waves, Tulane’s own freshman Francesca Pompa won co-medalist honors at their home event played at English Turn GCC. She shared those honors with LSU’s Josefin Widal who was playing as an individual. The Waves finished two strokes behind Cal Poly who shot even par as a team in the final round to take the team title.
4. SURF CLUB INVITATIONAL [Mar 10-11, 2025]
And to really round out this theme, how about a little surf (club) action in Myrtle Beach? Longwood earned their second straight team title this Spring in the rain-shortened Surf Club Invitational. Host App State’s junior Herman Huus won the individual title on the final hole to make it two years in a row for the Mountaineers.
5. YALE INVITATIONAL WEST [Mar 10-11, 2025]
Played on the PGA West’s newest addition, the Greg Norman course, the Yale Invitational (West) saw several team record performances. North Carolina set a program record with their 31-under performance that resulted in an 11 stroke victory. On the individual side, Lauren Clark shot a final round 66 to earn her third consecutive medalist honors and became the third Kansas Jayhawk to win three or more tournaments in a single season.
6. PALMETTO INTERCOLLEGIATE [Mar 10-11, 2024]
The 28th edition of the Palmetto Intercollegiate was another tournament shortened to 36 holes by the weather. With a final round 274/-6, Clemson earned both a more traditional crystal cup trophy as well as the cool framed posters of the historic Palmetto GC for each of the players. Host USC-Aiken (D2 team) finished just 5 shots behind Clemson thanks to strong performances by Erik Olin [T3] and Oscar Abrahamsson [co-medalist]. Campbell’s Henric Bjelke forced a playoff with a final hole par but Abrahamsson won the individual title with a birdie on first playoff hole.
7. BATTLE AT BRIAR’S CREEK [Feb 3-4, 2025]
The first of two recent collegiate events held at the famed GC at Briar’s Creek was won by the NC State men who opened and closed the tournament with rounds of 280/-8. The Wolfpack’s Michael Vick was one of three co-medalists along with Garrett Risner [Elon] and Kian Rose [Clemson]. Both the team and individuals received a cool painting of the course, making for a very unique trophy.
8. BRIAR’S CREEK INVITATIONAL [Mar 9-10, 2025]
The College of Charleston women also hosted an event at Briar’s Creek where the same painting was awarded. For the fourth tournament in a row, Florida State captured team honors after jumping out to a huge lead with an opening 280/-8. Rain shortened this tournament to 36 holes as well, but Mirabel Ting - recently crowned as the #1 ranked player in women’s D1 golf - still managed to reach double-digits under par to claim her fourth individual victory this season. Runner-up Jasmine Kahler matched the 36-hole scoring record for Purdue as the team took second place.
9. SEMINOLE INTERCOLLEGIATE [Mar 10-11, 2025]
The men’s FSU team is also enjoying a tremendous amount of success this season, and for the second time this year captured a team victory the same day as the women (no clue if this is some kind of record but at a minimum it’s a candidate for future college golf trivia!). The Noles won the Seminole Intercollegiate by a dozen strokes as Luke Clanton - who very publicly earned his PGA Tour card through the PGATU Accelerated program right before this tournament - took home his second straight individual collegiate title. Clanton was battling with Troy’s Brantley Scott throughout the second and third rounds until pulling away with a 30 in his final nine holes, finishing with a 65 for a 195/-15 five stroke victory.
MORE TROPHIES
Fall 2024
Spring 2025
We will definitely be doing more posts on college golf trophies! Let me know what suggestions you have on trophies to highlight.