Darcy Habgood’s incredible WSU career came to a close on her home course as she competed in the 2023 NCAA Pullman Regional. The fifth-year senior said in an Instagram post that competing in regionals was the goal she set for herself as a freshman, something she accomplished in her last hoorah. 

On the first day, Habgood played with Washington’s Stefanie Deng and Gonzaga’s Cassie Kim. Playing Par-72 on all three days, Habgood shot 70, Deng shot 69 and Kim shot 73. 

For the first 18 holes, Habgood drove the wall well and had little difficulty on the green. 

The standout in the first pairings was certainly Deng, who overcame obstacles and had a very impressive mid-game. She perfectly executed her shots to set herself up for par on nearly every hole, whether on the rough or in a sand pit. 

Kim and Habgood played all three days paired together, adding Fresno State’s Harriet Lynch for the final two days. 

On the second day, Habgood fought against wind and rain conditions, shooting 73 on the day to enter the final day of play one under par. 

“She played great throughout. She battled some weather [Tuesday] and had a delay on the first day, but she played stellar all week,” WSU head coach Sofie Aagaard said. 

Saving her best day for last, Habgood shot 69 to finish 4-under 212 and tied for 21st of all individuals at the Tournament.

“I am very happy with how I played. It was awesome to be out here at Palouse Ridge and competing against some of the world’s best amateur golfers so I was happy with how I played,” she said. “A little bit of a disappointing finish,  but I’m really happy to finish my career here in Pullman.” 

Looking back at her time in Pullman, Habgood said she is grateful for her coaches, teammates and support staff for helping her grow as a golfer and making her time here memorable. 

“It is unreal. I’m so grateful for the experience. I don’t really have any words for it. I’m just so grateful for Washington State,” she said.  

Finishing in first place in the Tournament was defending NCAA Champion Rose Zhang, who shot 19-under-212 (64, 68, 65) to take her 11th career win in just 19 starts, tying her for most career wins in school history with Tiger Woods. 

In second place, Zhang’s teammate Sadie Englemann (64, 70, 67) finished just four strokes behind the winner. 

As a school, Stanford came in first in team play, beating out Clemson, USC, Baylor, Texas Tech, Kentucky, Sacramento State, Houston, North Carolina, Cal Poly, UNLV and Green Bay, in that order of finish. 

Individually, Zhang moves on in her quest to defend her title and Stanford moves on to the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship, which will take place May 19–24 in Scottsdale, Arizona.