May 13, 2016

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina women’s golf standout Katelyn Dambaugh has been named to the 2015-16 PING WGCA Division I Player of the Year Watch List, the Women’s Golf Coaches Association announced on Friday. The junior joins UCLA’s Bronte Law, Duke’s Leona Maguire and Georgia’s Bailey Tardy as the nominees for the annual honor given to the top women’s golfer in Division I.

The top 60 players from Golfstat and Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings are considered for the award, and each golfer must complete a minimum of 15 rounds during the competitive year and play in the NCAA Regional Championships to be eligible for the accolade. The 2015-16 PING WGCA Player of the Year will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Championship (May 20-25).

Dambaugh, whose stroke average (71.60) ranks second in Division I, broke through this season, tallying the most top-five finishes (6) by a junior in program history. The Goose Creek, S.C., native has finished in the top-10 in each of the Gamecocks’ six tournaments this spring, including a runner-up finish at the SEC Championship (Apr. 15-17) and her first career medalist honors at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional last weekend. Dambaugh matched the program record with a 207 (-9) in Baton Rouge to help No. 18 South Carolina win an NCAA Regional for the second-straight season and qualify for next week’s NCAA Championship, set to take place in Eugene, Ore.

The First-Team All-SEC selection has anchored the Gamecocks in the postseason, finishing at par or better in each round of the SEC Championship and the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional. She has broken par in each of her last five rounds, and she will head into the NCAA Championship with three-straight top-three finishes.

Dambaugh is on a historic pace through three seasons at South Carolina. She is the program’s current career scoring leader with a stroke average of 73.01, and the junior ranks second all-time with 10 top-five finishes. Dambaugh has matched the school’s 54-hole record twice this season and finished at par or better 16 times.

The Gamecocks and 23 other teams open play at the NCAA Championship on Fri., May 20 at Eugene Country Club. This season marks South Carolina’s seventh-straight trip to the tournament and its 16^th overall appearance at the event.

PING WGCA Division I Player of the Year Candidates
Katelyn Dambaugh (Junior), South Carolina
Bronte Law (Junior), UCLA
Leona Maguire (Junior), Duke
Bailey Tardy (Freshman), Georgia