Women's Golf Places Sixth, Bajwa Ties For 10th At Golfweek Fall Challenge

Women's Golf Places Sixth, Bajwa Ties For 10th At Golfweek Fall ChallengeWomen's Golf Places Sixth, Bajwa Ties For 10th At Golfweek Fall Challenge
Bennett Scarborough

PAWLEYS ISLAND, S.C. – Puneet Bajwa finished tied for 10th and Old Dominion women’s golf took sixth place following Tuesday’s final round at the Golfweek Fall Challenge. The three-day tournament was held at Caledonia Golf & Fish Club.

“Overall, we had a solid tournament to start the year. Puneet played well from start to finish and it was nice to see our new players contribute. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how excited we are to have Lucia [Gonzalez] back in the line up,” said ODU head coach Mallory Kane.

A fourth year from Mohali, India, Bajwa recorded a two-under 69 in Sunday’s opening round with three birdies on the front nine and one more on the par-5 15th hole at Caledonia. She then went two-over with a 73 on Monday and carded another round of 73 on Tuesday. That put Bajwa in a four-way tie for 10th at two-over 215. She tied for fourth in par-5 scoring with an average of 4.67 and led ODU with 39 putts for par.

First year Ellie Johnson was next for the Monarchs, tying for 30th with a three-day tally of six-over par 219. She started her collegiate debut with an opening round of 72, posted a second round of 75, and bookended her performance with another 72.

After missing the 2025-26 season, the Golfweek Fall Challenge marked Lucia Gonzalez’s return to the ODU lineup. The fourth year from Monterrey, Mexico converted four birdie putts for an opening round of two-under 69 and followed with rounds of 75 and 76 to tie for 36th at seven-over 220. Third year Barbara Car turned in a 10-over par 223 to tie for 47th, and second year Darby Hancock, a transfer from Florida Southern, ended up tied for 51st at 11-over 224 in her first appearance for the Silver and Blue.

UNC Wilmington won the tournament with a two-over par 854, Campbell placed second with a five-over 857, and Austin Peay State came in third at 14-over 866. Campbell’s Miah Rivas secured individual medalist honors with a three-under 210, just one stroke better than UNCW’s Valencia Chang and Alexis Faieta who tied for second with a couple of 211s.

Next up for the Monarchs is the Lady Paladin Invitational, which will be hosted at the Furman University Golf Club on Sept. 18-20 in Greenville, South Carolina.

Team Results
1. UNCW (284-281-289 – 854) +2
2. Campbell (278-292-287 – 857) +5
3. Austin Peay State (282-295-289 – 866) +14
4. High Point (273-296-299 – 868) +16
5. Memphis (282-290-298 – 870) +18
6. Old Dominion (282-300-291 – 873) +21
7. Coastal Carolina (283-301-290 – 874) +22
8. Troy (282-297-296 – 875) +23
9. East Tennessee State (280-304-293 – 877) +25
10. Stetson (286-299-293 – 878) +26
11. UNC Greensboro (289-293-299 – 881) +29
12. Lipscomb (288-297-298 – 883) +31
13. Arkansas State (298-297-291 – 886) +34
14. Morehead State (291-300-296 – 887) +35
15. Mercer (294-305-294 – 893) +41
16. Radford (291-300-304 – 895) +43
17. Central Arkansas (294-299-303 – 896) +44
18. UNC Asheville (295-305-308 – 908) +56
19. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (299-306-308 – 913) +61
20. USC Upstate (304-309-304 – 917) +65
21. Presbyterian (302-313-315 – 930) +78
22. Stephen F. Austin (317-316-320 – 953) +101
23. Queens (314-323-325 – 962) +110

ODU Lineup
T10. Puneet Bajwa (69-73-73 – 215) +2
T30. Ellie Johnson (72-75-72 – 219) +6
T36. Lucia Gonzalez (69-75-76 – 220) +7
T47. Barbara Car (72-77-74 – 223) +10
T51. Darby Hancock (72-80-72 – 224) +11