Lizzie Neale Wins Individual Big Sky Conference Title

Final Results

LITCHFIELD, Ariz. (April 17, 2024) – The hard work during the 2024 regular season culminated into a Big Sky Conference individual title for sophomore golfer Lizzie Neale today at the championships. Neale set a single round championship record, and program record, with a 64 (-7) today to win Northern Arizona University its second individual title in the past three years. The championships took place at The Wigwam Golf Club (par-71, 5,948 yards).
 
As a team, the Lumberjacks finished second with a final total of 864 (+12) strokes, setting a program championship record. NAU saved its best round for last with a 278 (-6) after shooting consecutive scores of 293 (+9) the first two rounds.
 
Sacramento State won the team title for the second-straight season after shooting an 850 (-2).

"Honestly, today didn't start off great. We had three par fives on the first five holes and we finished one-over par after the first five. Once we made the turn, Lizzie was just one-over. And then, it was like bang, bang, bang. She kept going and making great shots, great decisions, I think she was six-under on the back nine, it was quite an impressive round of golf. She is a great kid, she has a done a lot of work and it's paid off. Her back is probably a five out of 10 health wise and for her to go out and perform like that is incredible," said head coach Brad Bedortha. "From a team perspective, we didn't start out the tournament great. We had a decent round here or there, but nothing really clicked. It was so cool to see us finish how we did after a hard semester for us. For our group of three sophomores and two freshman to finish off that way, I'm proud of them and I'm looking forward to the future and the direction we're headed. Lastly, I would like to personally thank our two seniors, Lorel and Kate, for their years of service to our program. They were instrumental in helping us develop our JACKS philosophy. I can't thank them enough for their efforts." 
 
Neale won the individual title by four strokes after entering the day two strokes out of first place. Over three rounds, she finished with a 203 (-10) setting a personal and program best for 54 holes. She had eight birdies on the day, including six in on the back nine. The sophomore from New Zealand shot a 71 (E) in round one and a 68 (-3) in the second round.

"I don't know how I'm feeling, to be honest," said Neale after the round. "I'm happy to have gotten this done. I feel like I've put in the hard work, and it's nice to see my hard work paying off. It feels really cool. I took it one shot at a time and took big, deep, breaths the whole day. I didn't start off the way I wanted to, but it was nice to continue on and keep hitting shots. I wasn't trying to do anything, just letting it happen. I love my teammates and it's cool that we all performed well today. We didn't start off the way we wanted, but it's so nice that we all finished on a high note and it's a great end to our season for sure." 
 
Amy Hodgkins finished in 15^th place with a 218 (+5) after shooting a 68 (-3) today. Hodgkins improved from consecutive 75's on the first two days for her 13^th career round at par or better and fifth in the 60's as a true freshman.
 
Fellow freshman Frankie Dezis finished strong as well, tying for 24^th after shooting a 72 (+1) today to end the tournament with 224 (+11) strokes. Ellena Slater tied for 26^th with a 225 (+12) after shooting a 74 (+3) in today's final round.
 
Nina Lukyanenko tied for 40^th with 229 (+16) strokes.
 
Neale will now advance on to NCAA Regionals from May 6-8 as an individual. Stay tuned to nauathletics.com for more details.