Ciera Min’s golf club didn’t feel like a magic wand. In fact, the Gonzaga junior pointed out that she was having a normal day at the West Coast Conference championships. ADVERTISING Ciera Min’s golf club didn’t feel like a magic
Ciera Min’s golf club didn’t feel like a magic wand. In fact, the Gonzaga junior pointed out that she was having a normal day at the West Coast Conference championships.
The only thing out of the ordinary was her final-round score: a Bulldog record 6-under-par 66 on Wednesday to not only win the WCC title but also claim her first tourney victory.
The 2013 Waiakea graduate entered the final day tied for ninth, eight strokes out of first place, at the Blackhawk Country Club in Danville, Calif., where the rough was a tad high and the greens slippery fast.
Min hurdled over every obstacle and finished with an even par 74-76-66—216 total to edge BYU front-runner Lea Garner, who had a 219 total in a logjam with three others.
“I was having a normal day until the seventh hole,” said Min, who started from the back nine on the 10th hole.
Min birdied the par-5 15th hole to reach even par and eagled the par-4 17th to make the turn at 2-under.
“I made eagle at the 17th, and that got me started,” she said. “I wasn’t doing anything super spectacular. My drives were in the fairway. I was making some putts, and it worked out really well.”
When she started her finishing push at the first hole, Min bogeyed, but that would prove to be no big deal.
Last year, she earned her first WCC All-Academic honor with a 3.36 grade-point average.
Min changed her major to psychology from a track toward premed. She hopes to get into family or marriage counseling back home after she goes to graduate school.
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior, and it’s a suitable asset for golf and a major strength for Min, the first female winner in the 90-year history of the Big Island Amateur tournament in 2013.
Min squashed her bogey on the first hole out of her mind and birdied Nos. 2, 3, 5, and 9 to close like a Bulldog champ and help Gonzaga to a 23-over 887 total for a runner-up finish.
The Zags were three shots behind BYU, which had a 20-over 884 total. The Cougars snapped Pepperdine’s 14-year championship streak. The Waves had a 28-over 892 total.
“It’s pretty amazing to win today,” Min said. “My one personal goal this year was to win a tournament, and for this to be my first win is awesome. Our team was so close to winning, and how we performed as a group definitely helps make this special.”
The Zags will learn their NCAA postseason fate on Monday, April 25 when the NCAA regional fields are announced at noon on the Golf Channel.
Until then, Min, who has a 3.8 GPA, will hit the books.
“I’ve been enjoying school,” she said. “I have finals in a few weeks. Hopefully, everything goes well. I’ve had some fun. I’ve gone to basketball games with my teammates and ate lots of great food.”
Last season, Min earned All-WCC honors for the second straight year and had the best scoring average (73.89 strokes per round) in school history.
She also tied for 40th at the NCAA regionals with a 3-over 219 total, the second-best regional finish in school history.
When Min’s eagle landed, the Zag junior started to turn her normal day into a magical round to make school history again.
