AU women finish 12th in Valspar; Ga. Southern takes home title
By Rodrigo Burgos-Avila | Sports writer
The Augusta University Jaguars’ weekend (March 15-16) at the Valspar Augusta Invitational golf tournament ended under inclement conditions as heavy rain at Forest Hills forced tournament officials to cancel play on March 16, leaving the 36 holes from March 15 as the final scores.
Georgia Southern claimed the team title with a total score of 6 over par, while Texas Tech’s Klara Hurtova earned individual medalist honors by finishing 5 under par over the two rounds.
The final leaderboard saw top finishes from Georgia Southern (+6), UCF (+9) and Michigan State (+11), with Furman, Texas Tech and Coastal Carolina rounding out the top six before Yale, North Florida and South Florida followed.
Michigan, Emory and Augusta trailed, with Augusta finishing at +47. Northern Illinois took 13th at +54.
Augusta’s sophomore Zoe Pinillos led the Jaguars by posting rounds of 73 and 74 over the 6,201-yard, par-72 Forest Hills layout to finish in a tie for 12th place. It was the best finish of the spring season for the sophomore from Trujillo, La Libertad, Peru.
Marine Legentil was next for the AU women at 152.
This was the first Valspar under first-year coach Ember Holloway.
The condensed schedule, with both rounds played on Saturday, tested the players’ adaptability as course conditions shifted throughout the day.
Although the cancellation of Sunday’s round was a disappointment for the players and coaches in the field, Augusta’s outing on Saturday provided solid experience for competing against a strong national field..
Up next for the Jaguars is the More Than Golf Invitational at the new Old Barnwell Golf Club in Aiken, S.C. The tournament is scheduled for March 27-30.
Then, during Masters week, the Jaguars will compete in the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic in Athens.
The Jaguars will seek to improve on their Valspar weekend in their next two tournaments.
Contact Rodrigo Burgos-Avila at rburgosavila@augusta.edu.
Zoe Pinillos finished in a tie for 12th place, the top finish by an AU golfer in the 2025 Valspar. At the top of the page, she shows her form on the tee. (photos by Paula Toole/AU Athletics)
