Sandburg women’s golf tees it up at nationals this week

The Sandburg women's golf team will participate in the inaugural NJCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championship this week. Here's everything you need to know about the Chargers' trip to nationals. 

When and where is it?

May 13-16 at Cedar Pointe Golf Course in Boone, Iowa. An online leaderboard will be available for fans to follow the action throughout the tournament. Cedar Pointe’s original nine-hole course is believed to be one of the oldest in Iowa.

How did the Chargers qualify?

Sandburg earned a spot in the field by finishing second at the Central District Championship last month at Fox Bend in Oswego. The top three teams and top two individuals from outside of those teams advanced to nationals.

What's the format?

The tournament will be 72 holes played over four days. The field includes 15 teams (12 district qualifiers and three at-large selections) and 10 individuals. In each round, teams can play up to five players, with the best four scores counting toward their team total.

Region 3-peat

In addition to moving on to nationals, Sandburg also won its third straight Region 4 title, which was held concurrently with the Central District Championship. The Chargers had four golfers earn spots on the seven-player all-region team: Ava Hackman (Region 4 runner-up), Lauren Minkel (third), Abigail Strode (fourth) and Kylie Fahnestock (fifth). 

No strangers to nationals

This marks the Sandburg women's golf team's third trip to nationals. The Chargers also competed in 2023 (15th place) and 2019 (11th).

Tourney No. 1 for Division II

While the NJCAA has held women’s golf championships for several years, this is the first time a national tournament for Division II will take place. The NJCAA has sponsored women's golf since 1976 and began the Division I and Division III championships in 2022.

Grads gone golfing

Hackman and Minkel will trade their caps and gowns for clubs and tees this week. The Sandburg sophomores are set to graduate with their associate degrees, but won’t be able to participate in Thursday’s commencement ceremony because they’ll be competing at the national tournament.