Top-Ranked Hogs Win Third Straight Tournament, Claim Team Title at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup
NICHOLS HILLS, Okla. – No. 1 Arkansas women’s golf closed out the fall season with its third-straight tournament victory after defeating No. 13 Oregon 3-2 in the Jackson T. Stephens Cup championship match at Oklahoma Golf & Country Club.
The Hogs lead in all five matches on the front nine before giving up leads in three matches heading into the final few holes. After Maria José Marin, the top-ranked women’s college golfer, wrapped up her match against Suvichaya Vinijchaitham up four holes with three remaining, the two teams were tied 2-2 with just one pairing remaining.
Freshman Natalie Blonien, up against reigning WGCA Co-Freshman of the Year Kiara Romero, made her collegiate match play debut as Arkansas’ anchor.
The Altus, Oklahoma native got out to an early two-hole lead on the front nine and fell behind by two holes going into the 15th hole. On the par-3 15th hole, Blonien sunk her first birdie since No. 8 and ended a stretch of five bogeys. With the lead cut to one hole, the pair tied No. 16.
Despite a tee shot into the rough on hole 17, Blonien’s second stroke managed to fall five feet within the hole and pressured Romero into conceding the hole after her attempt from the rough resulted in a would-be lengthy putt for birdie.
Headed into the 18th hole, the match between Blonien and Romero was tied for the first time since No. 12. Both players found the fairway to begin the par 4 and followed up with both of their second shots on the green, with Blonien’s closer at roughly 25 feet out from the pin.
Romero, first to putt, missed her long-range attempt for birdie and put Blonien in position to win the team title for Arkansas with a made birdie putt. The freshman did just that when her 25-footer slowed up and made a slight curl to the right before dropping in the hole.
“Going into 18, there was definitely some pressure,” Blonien said. “I just took a deep breath, which is something I worked on the last three holes to stay calm and keep myself in it. I hit a really good shot into 18, and we picked out a great spot, so all it needed was speed, and it was dead in the heart of the cup. I struggled a little in stroke play earlier in the week, but today was a fresh day and I knew I had to help my team any way I could.”
In the four fall tournaments, Arkansas finished no worse than runner-up (The Carmel Cup) and picked up two individual titles in the process.
“It’s a real privilege to stand with them today, we had a great fall,” head coach Shauna Taylor said in a post-round interview on Golf Channel. “The Stephens Cup is an incredible golf tournament and such a good tool for preparing for what we’re going to see this spring. This is one more block to where we want to get to and I’m blessed to be able to lead this team.”
Match Play Results
- Kendall Todd vs. Karen Tsuru (1 up)
- Clarissa Temelo (3&2) vs. Tong An
- Reagan Zibilski vs. Darae Chung (4&3)
- Maria José Marin (4&3) vs. Suvichaya Vinijchaitham
- Natalie Blonien (1 up) vs. Kiara Romero
Arkansas wins 3-2.
Up Next
The Razorbacks will return to the course on February 2, 2025, at the Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
For more information on Arkansas women’s golf, follow @RazorbackWGolf on social media.
