Central Michigan University Athletics
Tuesday, April 23
Grove City, Ohio (Pinnacle Golf Club)
9 a.m.
Central Michigan University
at
Mid-American Conference Championship
Ashley Goh closed her CMU golf career on Tuesday with a sixth-place finish in the Mid-American Conference Championship at Pinnacle Golf Club in Grove City, Ohio.
Senior Send-Off: Goh Posts 3rd Career MAC Top 10, Chippewas a Surprising 5th at MAC Championship
4/23/2024 6:42:00 PM | Women's Golf
GROVE CITY, Ohio – Ashley Goh capped her brilliant Central Michigan golf career on Tuesday, closing with a 2-over par 74 for a 228 total and a sixth-place finish in the Mid-American Conference Championship at Pinnacle Golf Club.
Goh, a senior from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, posted her third career top 10 in the Chippewas' annual biggest tournament, and she put a bow on an oh-so-memorable four years in maroon and gold.
"When you look at and talk about her career as a whole," CMU coach Ryan Williams said, "there's so many great things that you can say about it. She's an incredible person, extremely humble, and a pleasure to be around all while playing really, really good golf.
"We're going to miss her and I'm extremely proud of her. She has a ton to be proud of looking back at her college career."
Goh finished fourth at the MAC Championship last spring and tied for ninth as a sophomore in 2022. As a freshman in 2021, she was 14th. With her top-10 finish, she earned a spot on the MAC All-Tournament Team for the third consecutive year.
Her sixth-place finish on Tuesday was her program-record 15th career top 10 and she holds or shares CMU records for 18-hole (68), 36-hole (141), and 54-hole (215) scores.
Goh's 74 on Tuesday was the third-best score of the day in the 49-player field. She began the final round tied for 10th place, nine shots off the pace. She finished six shots back after a four-birdie, six-bogey round.
"She's a special player, she's had an unbelievable career, did a ton for the program and just accomplished so much," Williams said. "Today capped off a really, really good career in a great way for her. Today's conditions were really, really tough, and she put a really good number on the board and made her best effort to move up the leaderboard and help the team finish."
Goh led the Chippewas to a 313 team score, their best of the 54-hole tournament, on Tuesday and a 947 total. CMU finished fifth, an outstanding result for a team that entered the 10-team tournament seeded 10th.
The Chippewas were tied for fourth after an opening-round 315, and then slipped to fifth on Monday with a 319.
"At the start of the day I knew we just had to hang in there and play tough and keep our heads about us and keep the attitudes in a good place and keep battling," Williams said. "That's what they did.
"I'm really proud of them. They did everything that I had asked of them, and they did everything they could to battle all week long, hang in there every single round, and just get as much out of it as they could and that's why we ended up in the position that we did.
"It's so much easier said than done, especially when you're playing a tough golf course in tough conditions with difficult pins. You get knocked down quite often, but they got back up again every single time."
CMU freshman Rachel Niskanen posted a 6-over 78, her best round of the tournament, on Tuesday to finish with a 240 total and in a tie for 21st.
Niskanen began the day in 33rd place and only two players in the entire field improved their placing by a greater margin from the second round to the third.
"She's going to gain a ton of confidence from that, and she earned that," Williams said. "It was a really good day for her. She played steady golf and she gave herself some really good chances and converted. Really happy for her."
CMU senior Mackenzie Baustad followed the improvement trend set by Goh and Niskanen as she went from a T31 to a T25 finish with a final-round 80. She finished with a 241 total.
Fellow senior Rachel Kauflin posted an 81 on Tuesday to finish at 244 and T37, while freshman Lexi Schulman shot 89 to finish T42 with a 252 total.
It was the final collegiate tournament for Goh, Baustad and Kauflin.
"Both Mackenzie and Rachel played so hard this week," Williams said. "They put it all on the line and did everything they could, just like they've done for the last four years. It's tough to say good-bye to those three seniors, they've done a lot for the program and for us. Can't thank them enough. I think the way they played this week showed what type of people they are and how competitive they are."
Kent State shot a final-round 301 to finish with a 909 team total to win its 25th consecutive MAC crown. The Golden Flashes finished 11 shots ahead of runner-up Toledo. Northern Illinois (937) was third.
Kent State's Hester Sicking and Leon Takagi, the defending medalist, both finished at 222 to share medalist honors. Kent State's Veronika Kedronova (224) was third.
Goh, a senior from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, posted her third career top 10 in the Chippewas' annual biggest tournament, and she put a bow on an oh-so-memorable four years in maroon and gold.
"When you look at and talk about her career as a whole," CMU coach Ryan Williams said, "there's so many great things that you can say about it. She's an incredible person, extremely humble, and a pleasure to be around all while playing really, really good golf.
"We're going to miss her and I'm extremely proud of her. She has a ton to be proud of looking back at her college career."
Goh finished fourth at the MAC Championship last spring and tied for ninth as a sophomore in 2022. As a freshman in 2021, she was 14th. With her top-10 finish, she earned a spot on the MAC All-Tournament Team for the third consecutive year.
Her sixth-place finish on Tuesday was her program-record 15th career top 10 and she holds or shares CMU records for 18-hole (68), 36-hole (141), and 54-hole (215) scores.
Goh's 74 on Tuesday was the third-best score of the day in the 49-player field. She began the final round tied for 10th place, nine shots off the pace. She finished six shots back after a four-birdie, six-bogey round.
"She's a special player, she's had an unbelievable career, did a ton for the program and just accomplished so much," Williams said. "Today capped off a really, really good career in a great way for her. Today's conditions were really, really tough, and she put a really good number on the board and made her best effort to move up the leaderboard and help the team finish."
Goh led the Chippewas to a 313 team score, their best of the 54-hole tournament, on Tuesday and a 947 total. CMU finished fifth, an outstanding result for a team that entered the 10-team tournament seeded 10th.
The Chippewas were tied for fourth after an opening-round 315, and then slipped to fifth on Monday with a 319.
"At the start of the day I knew we just had to hang in there and play tough and keep our heads about us and keep the attitudes in a good place and keep battling," Williams said. "That's what they did.
"I'm really proud of them. They did everything that I had asked of them, and they did everything they could to battle all week long, hang in there every single round, and just get as much out of it as they could and that's why we ended up in the position that we did.
"It's so much easier said than done, especially when you're playing a tough golf course in tough conditions with difficult pins. You get knocked down quite often, but they got back up again every single time."
CMU freshman Rachel Niskanen posted a 6-over 78, her best round of the tournament, on Tuesday to finish with a 240 total and in a tie for 21st.
Niskanen began the day in 33rd place and only two players in the entire field improved their placing by a greater margin from the second round to the third.
"She's going to gain a ton of confidence from that, and she earned that," Williams said. "It was a really good day for her. She played steady golf and she gave herself some really good chances and converted. Really happy for her."
CMU senior Mackenzie Baustad followed the improvement trend set by Goh and Niskanen as she went from a T31 to a T25 finish with a final-round 80. She finished with a 241 total.
Fellow senior Rachel Kauflin posted an 81 on Tuesday to finish at 244 and T37, while freshman Lexi Schulman shot 89 to finish T42 with a 252 total.
It was the final collegiate tournament for Goh, Baustad and Kauflin.
"Both Mackenzie and Rachel played so hard this week," Williams said. "They put it all on the line and did everything they could, just like they've done for the last four years. It's tough to say good-bye to those three seniors, they've done a lot for the program and for us. Can't thank them enough. I think the way they played this week showed what type of people they are and how competitive they are."
Kent State shot a final-round 301 to finish with a 909 team total to win its 25th consecutive MAC crown. The Golden Flashes finished 11 shots ahead of runner-up Toledo. Northern Illinois (937) was third.
Kent State's Hester Sicking and Leon Takagi, the defending medalist, both finished at 222 to share medalist honors. Kent State's Veronika Kedronova (224) was third.
Players Mentioned
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