By:
D. Scott Fritchen
After trekking back-and-forth along the 6,095-yard Keene Trace Golf Club for three days under up-and-down weather conditions in Nicholasville, Kentucky, the historic journey by the Kansas State women’s golf team paused on Wednesday shortly before 12:45 p.m. That’s when the indomitable Wildcats smoothly completed the 18th hole of the final round in the 2025 NCAA Lexington Regional, thus putting the final touches on a brilliant performance that will extend their dream season for another couple weeks.
Ticket punched.
K-State is going to the national championship.
Let that sink in. Let it marinate like second-year head coach Stew Burke, assistant coach Rinko Mitsunaga, and the Wildcats did three hours after the regional, after holding the “TICKET PUNCHED” sign on the golf course, and now sitting in an Italian spot they found prior to the regional and had revisited every day, the chatter and laughter intermixed with heaping spoons of pasta during a late lunch, as the players relived their individual journeys during the day, and as the Wildcats’ first appearance in a regional since 2017 elevated into the first national championship berth in history for a program that has authored one of the greatest comeback stories ever witnessed in K-State sports.
“A lot of people told me it couldn’t be done, that this was a hard job,” Burke said, his cellphone pressed to his ear amid restaurant noise. “There were doubters about what we could achieve here. But this is the standard. This is what we want to accomplish every single year. I’m so incredibly proud of what we’ve started to build here. With the right support and right recruits coming in over the coming years, there’s no reason why we can’t build on this and go even farther in future years.”
K-State tied for second place behind ACC Champion and No. 1 seed Florida State. Meanwhile, the legendary career of Carla Bernat continues as the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Champion and 2024-25 Big 12 Women’s Golfer of the Year fired 12-under par 204 to win the Lexington Regional individual title — beating Florida State’s Mirabel Ting and Lottie Woad, who rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. Bernat’s performance in the final round included an albatross on the par-5 fifth hole, which was the first albatross in her collegiate or international career.
“Carla really had a great tournament and built well into the week,” Burke said of Bernat, who led the field by going 9-under par on the par 5s. “Winning a regional against the No. 1 and No. 2 players not just in the country but the world is no easy feat. It was special to see her albatross at hole 5, and it came right when we needed it as a team. To win once in college golf is an unbelievable achievement, but eight times is truly remarkable. She has a bright future ahead of her after college, but let’s first try and add to that total in California.”
Just as Bernat has captured attention in Augusta and Lexington, she’ll arrive with her team at the 2025 National Championship on May 16-21 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, as one of the standouts to watch.
The rest of the Wildcats won’t be far behind.
It was just last week that Burke sat in his cream-colored office at Colbert Hills Golf Course and emphatically declared that the Wildcats, who missed out on a regional last season, and were selected as the No. 5 seed for the Lexington Regional, needed to force their way to a spot at the table. The top four seeds in Lexington were No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 USC, No. 3 TCU and No. 4 Vanderbilt. How would the Wildcats respond in the field of 12 teams? Could they be one of the top five finishers and advance to the national championship?
Here were the final overall results: 1. Florida State (-15), No. 2 K-State (-10), No. 2 Georgia Southern (-10), No. 4 USC (-7), No. 5 Vanderbilt (+2).
“Our mantra all week was, ‘They don’t want us here. We’re K-State. We’re not supposed to be at this party,'” Burke said. “The girls took that personally, went out and played with swagger. They pushed our way in. We weren’t going to let what it was in the past dictate what we were going to be in the future. That’s the cool part.
“History is made.”
K-State entered with firepower with Bernat and Big 12 Champion Sophie Bert, freshman Nanami Nakashima, sophomore Alenka Navarro and junior Noa van Beek. The players took turns helping the team score. This was, indeed, a team effort.
After going 8-under par over the second nine holes of the first round on Monday, K-State battled rainy conditions for an even-par 288, which was good for second place. van Beek and Bernat each posted a score of 2-under par 70 to sit in a tie for third place individually. On Tuesday, K-State shot an even par again to reside in third place overall with a 36-hole score of 576, while Bernat fired a 4-under par 68 to remain in contention for the individual regional championship title.
The night before the final round wasn’t kind to Burke.
“I tossed and turned a little bit,” he said.
There was so much to do. He had a list of things to bring to the golf course. Then the team had to check out of its hotel. Then there was the rental car, and making sure it was packed and ready to go so the girls could enjoy a peaceful breakfast. Burke had never overslept in his life. It was also his biggest fear. The fuss over preparation for Wednesday allowed little time for him to lie in darkness and stare at the ceiling, thinking of the approaching final round that could alter the perception of K-State women’s golf.
Once on the golf course, it was on.
K-State, which entered Wednesday in third place and just six shots clear of the cutline, turned in the round of the day at 10-under par 278, which tied for the eighth-lowest round in program history. K-State’s three-round total of 10-under par 854 was the sixth-lowest 54-hole score in program history and 12 shots clear of the cutline.
The Wildcats proved to be brilliant in the clutch.
After finishing a collective 12-over par on the back nine holes over the first two rounds, K-State went 5-under par on the back nine on Wednesday, which was the best of any squad in the 12-team field. K-State recorded a regional-leading 20-under par on the par 5s, tied for first with two eagles or better, and finished second with 47 birdies, just one birdie behind team regional champion Florida State.
“Our girls had each other’s backs,” Burke said. “It’s not about who plays well and who’s No. 1. They know they all need each other to have great rounds and great scores. If they don’t have a good round, they don’t wallow. They know the goal is to move the team. We have a really good team-based culture. Just seeing the desire to keep moving up the leaderboard and to beat teams and force our way in there is pretty cool.”
The national championship begins on Friday, May 16, with the first of three days of stroke play. Following Sunday’s third round, the field will be cut to 15 teams and the top nine individuals on non-advancing teams for the fourth and final round on Monday, May 19, to determine the top eight teams that will advance to match play as well as the 72-hold individual champion.
The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format that will consist of quarterfinals and semifinals on Tuesday, May 20, followed by the finals on Wednesday, May 21.
Monday’s final round of stroke play, and all three rounds of match play will be shown on GOLF Channel.
The TV audience will see K-State, one of the top comeback stories this year in the world of women’s golf, working to keep its dream season going.
“The girls have two coaches that believe in them and have a vision and a clear plan of where we want to go with this team,” Burke said. “Of course, they were nervous and a little anxious Wednesday.”
He paused.
“This was uncharted territory,” he said. “This had never been done before.”
Until now.
Ticket punched.
K-State is going to the national championship.
