Texas' Farah O'Keefe Wins Individual National Title

As the No. 5-ranked Texas Longhorns aim for a team title at the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, Calif., junior Farah O'Keefe took home the individual national title.

O'Keefe became the third individual national champion in Texas Women's Golf's program history, and the first since 1997.

"It's a feeling of all the hard work I've put in coming to fruition," O'Keefe said after carding a 2-under 70 in the final round at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.

"I was telling my coach on the way up from 18 after I finished that this is great, but I want to win a team national championship. It would mean the world for me to bring a national championship home to Austin with me being from Austin. It would be the highlight of my life. I think job is not finished. I was really glad that I was able to figure out this golf course. The last couple years has been a bit of a struggle, but I thought I had a good strategy in place coming into this week."

O'Keefe pulled away from the field with a pair of birdies on 17 and 18 to seal the win by four strokes. The gap was narrowed by Stanford's Megha Ganne, who also birdied the final two holes after O'Keefe had finished.

"Felt pretty good, felt confident," she said about her closing performance. "I'm just excited right now and really happy."

O'Keefe, who is currently ranked No. 4 in the world amateur rankings, finished the four-round competition with a 12-under score of 276, shooting 69, 69, 68 and 70 for the tournament.

This year's SEC Golfer of the Year now earns a spot in the U.S. Women's Open after her fourth win of the season. She'll look to continue her strong play at major-level venues on the LPGA map.

Earlier this year, O'Keefe was the low amateur at The Chevron Championship, placing tied for 38th place overall in the LPGA's first major of the year. At the Augusta National Women's Amateur, she tied for 15th.

The Longhorns now prepare to build on O'Keefe's success in the national quarterfinals, which pair them against Eastern Michigan. The team tees off at 9:40 CT on Tuesday, May 26. The semifinals would be set for later Tuesday afternoon, with the final round played on Wednesday.

Texas placed third out of 15 teams in the final round of stroke play.

"Today's conditions were really difficult, and I was really proud of how the women stayed really composed through the round," said head coach Laura Ianello. "We didn't get off to a great start, but everyone showed their Texas fight today. The fight the whole way was inspiring. We have been working so hard as a team, and to see them push through today was great."