Women’s golf takes fourth at Big 12 Championship

Nattapan+Siritrai%2C+freshman+on+the+ISU+womens+golf+team%2C+practices+her+swing+Sept.+2.

Korrie Bysted/Iowa State Daily

Nattapan Siritrai, freshman on the ISU women’s golf team, practices her swing Sept. 2.

Mike Randleman

Before the tournament began, if Iowa State was guaranteed that four of five starters would finish in the top 10, it would have taken that result without hesitation.

Such a scenario played out for No. 37 Iowa State at the Big 12 Championship, but none of Iowa State’s starters were able to contend for an individual title to push the Cyclones over the top.

As a result, Iowa State finished with a 54-hole total of 881 (17-over-par), to place fourth out of nine teams at The Dominion Country Club in San Antonio, Texas.

Iowa State finished two shots off second place and one behind third, but was unable to keep pace with champion No. 26 Baylor, which cruised to a 12-shot victory.

The Cyclones were led by a trio of golfers throughout the week in freshman Nattapan Siritrai, junior Cajsa Persson and senior Chonlada Chayanun.

Siritrai bested the field scoring average in each round with scores of 73, 74 and 73, but lacked the sub-70 round to jump into the medalist chase.

Persson had nearly identical scores to Siritrai, though her round of 74 came in the final round. She and Chayanun both have two top-10 finishes in the last three Big 12 Championships.

The only Cyclone to post a sub-par round was Chayanun. Her one-under-par 71 in round one had her near the top five for the first half of the tournament, but a 77 in round two derailed her title aspirations.

She finished with a 72 to climb back into the top 10.

Iowa State will next compete in the NCAA Regionals on May 7 to 9. Its destination will be announced during a selection show at 7 p.m. April 27 on the Golf Channel.

The four regional sites are Raleigh, N.C., San Antonio, Texas, South Bend, Ind. and St. George, Utah.