Thunderbirds Place 5th at the Women’s Golf Championship

The NMJC women's golf team finished in fifth place in their first appearance at the NJCAA DI Women's Golf Championship in Viera, Fla., on Thursday, May 23. 

The T-Birds shot a 22-over par 314 in the final round to finish the week at 70-over. Daytona State won the championship with a 6-under 72-hole score, Seminole State closed the tournament in second place at 6-over par, Odessa College was third at 51-over, and McLennan CC jumped up one spot from Day 3 into fourth place at 58-over.

The Thunderbirds shot 316 (+24) in Round 1, 298 (+6) in Round 2, 310 (+18) in Round 3, and a 314 (+22) in Round 4 to record a 72-hole total of 1238 (+70). The 72-hole score sets the 72 hole school record.

Nanami Hayakawa was the top finisher for the Thunderbirds finishing T-15 at 10-over. The freshman's performance earned her an NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American selection. Hinano Kishida placed T-17 at 12-over and earned NJCAA Honorable Mention All-American honors as well. The duo are the first All-Americans in program history.

Nanami Hayakawa entered the final round at 8-over par with rounds of 75-74-78. She started her front nine bogey-par-birdie and was even through five holes. Hayakawa dropped shots on No. 6 and No. 7 but bounced back with a birdie on No. 9 to go out at 1-over.

The Nagano, Japan native made pars on her next five holes and then bogeyed the par-5 15th to drop to 2-over on the day. Hayakawa finished her final three holes with pars to post a 2-over 75. The final-round 75 was good enough for a 10-over T-15 finish and earned her Honorable All-American honors. The 10-over four-round total of 302 is the lowest 72-hole total by a Thunderbird.

Hinano Kishida came into Round 4 at 8-over par with rounds of 78-74-75. Kishida's start Thursday morning was less than ideal. Kishida began with a par and then unfortunately made three straight bogeys. She righted the ship on No. 5-7 going par-birdie-par to move to 2-over through seven. A bogey-par finish to the front nine put Kishida at 3-over for the day.

Kishida parred her first two holes on the back and then went birdie-bogey-double to drop to 5-over through 14. The freshman made pars on her next three holes and birdied No. 18 to post a final-round 77 (+4). She finished the championship with a 12-over four-round total of 304 to place T-17 and earn Honorable Mention All-American honors.

Wawa Booncharn entered the final day at 14-over after shooting 80-75-78. Booncharn bogeyed her first hole along with the No. 5 and No. 7 to make the turn at 3-over. Her back nine started par-birdie-bogey-birdie to bring her to 2-over through 14. She bogeyed No. 15 and made pars the rest of the way to post a 3-over 76 in her final round. Booncharn finished the tournament in 31st place at 17-over par with a 72-hole score of 309.

Olivia Heard was the final T-Bird to count toward the team score. Heard shot 83-75-79 in her first three rounds and sat at 18-over for the tournament. Thursday was not her day. The Englishwoman made bogeys on four of her first six holes. She then doubled No. 7 and went on to shoot a 6-over 42 on the front nine.

The back nine was even harder for Heard as she began to run out of steam. She recorded one birdie, a double, a triple, three pars, and three bogeys on the back nine to finish her final tournament of the year with a 13-over 86. Heard shot a four-day total of 323 to come in a tie for 45th place at 31-over.

Substitute Kyleigh McGowen was the last T-Bird on the course Thursday afternoon. McGowen came in relief of Ashleigh Johnson and played Rounds 2-3 at 86-82. The Andrews, Texas native had a tough day out on the course similar to Heard. McGowen made four pars, three bogeys, and a triple to go out in 44 at 8-over par. She then came in with bogeys on No. 11, No. 13, and No. 14. McGowen doubled 15 and finished par-par-bogey to shoot a 14-over 87 in the final round. 

The T-Birds finish their inaugural season under head coach Kendalyn Ferguson with six individual titles, three team wins, an NJCAA All-American, and a top-5 finish at the NJCAA DI Women's Golf Championship.