Central Michigan University Athletics
Photo by: Andy Sneddon
Goh Closes With Outstanding Performance at PGA Works Collegiate Championship
5/8/2024 8:15:00 PM | Women's Golf
CMU grad finishes 6th at TPC Sawgrass
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – An outstanding end to sensational collegiate golf career.
Ashley Goh, who on Saturday graduated from Central Michigan with a degree in interior design, shot a 3-over par 75 during the final round on Wednesday of the PGA Works Collegiate Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
It was Goh's second straight 75 after an opening-round 77. She finished with a 227 total, good for sixth place in a strong 24-player field at Sawgrass, one of the nation's most high-profile golf facilities and the annual site of the Players Championship.
"I think I did pretty well, and I think it's a really good finish for me to end my college golf career," said Goh, who hails from Johor Bahru, Malaysia. "The pins were really tough today and conditions were really tough all three days.
"It wasn't playing super long, but you have to be very precise and know where you're trying to hit it and you have to keep the ball in play and on the fairway and hit greens. That's the key to playing well here."
It was the final time Goh will wear the action 'C' and represent Chippewa women's golf. She leaves the program as the best player in program history, holding or sharing CMU records for 18-, 36-, and 54-hole score. She posted one victory and 15 top-10 finishes in her four-year career.
She helped lead the Chippewas seven team tournament titles, four runner-up finishes, and five thirds. She posted CMU's low score in the last three Mid-American Conference Championship tournaments, leading the Chippewas to eighth- (2022), third- (2023) and fifth-place (2024) finishes. CMU had never finished better than 10th in the MAC Championship before Goh arrived on the scene.
She is a two-time All-MAC selection, three times she finished in the top 10 at the MAC Championship, and she is a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree.
"She's done so many great things for the program," CMU coach Ryan Williams said. "All of her individual accolades brought light to our program which is something that we needed, and it's helped move us forward in a big way.
"She came to Central Michigan from all the way around the globe, and she came here and handled herself the way she did and grew as an individual and became a leader on the team, a leader on the golf course. She was invested in what we were doing and invested in what she was getting out of the experience. She put in a whole lot more in than she took out and that's all you can ask for.
"It means a ton for us and it means a ton for the program and I think that as we go through the next few years she's going to be a big reason why some really good players decide to come to Central Michigan, and a big reason why we will continue to move forward and continue to build as a program."
Goh finished one shot behind Sonja Tang of Oregon and Jahnavi Prakhya of North Alabama and five back of the winner, Una Chou of the University of British Columbia.
Goh's first and third rounds came on the famed Stadium Course, and her second-round 75 came on the Dye's Valley Course, named for Sawgrass architect and builder Pete Dye.
Including the practice round, she made three pars on the Stadium Course's par-3 17th, renowned and celebrated for its island green which has proven time and again to give even the world's best players fits.
"In the practice round we got to tee it up where the professionals would normally tee it up and that was super cool," Goh said. "I'm proud of myself and I'm happy to say that I hit the green, three-for-three. Crazy experience for sure."
That Goh made par on 17, let alone on three consecutive tries under tournament conditions, is an impressive feat, Williams said.
It is particularly noteworthy, he added, in that in Wednesday's final round, the hole location was in its 'Sunday spot,' that is, tucked in the front of the green some three yards from the water's edge – just as it is for the final round in any given year for The Players.
"I got to walk every step of the way with her all three days," Williams said. "It was hot, and it was a long round every day -- six hours. She hung in there really well. She finished every round off in a solid way and she didn't let down, which is something that I always try to get out of our players, and we can always count on Ash doing that.
"She played really steady and hit some really great shots, had some really memorable moments out there, and that's what it was really all about. She did some things that I'm extremely impressed with, just like usual."
Goh is the first Chippewa to play in the PGA Works event, which brings together minority collegiate golfers from across North America, many of whom are enrolled in historically black colleges and universities, and Hispanic and other minority-serving institutions.
The tournament was contested in five divisions, men's NCAA Division I teams, men's NCAA Division II teams, women's teams from all NCAA divisions, individual men, and individual women. All tolled, some 200 student-athletes competed.
For Goh, it was the final line to her remarkable Central Michigan legacy.
"I think I've come a long way from my freshman year to now," she said. "There are records that I wish I did break that I didn't, but I broke a fair number of records so I'm really proud of myself.
"Coming into Central my goal was to make the lineup every tournament, play well, break records, and help the team move forward. Obviously, there are things that I wish I could have done better, but you can't have it all. It's been a great four years, honestly. I'm happy with how I finished and how I played."
Ashley Goh, who on Saturday graduated from Central Michigan with a degree in interior design, shot a 3-over par 75 during the final round on Wednesday of the PGA Works Collegiate Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
It was Goh's second straight 75 after an opening-round 77. She finished with a 227 total, good for sixth place in a strong 24-player field at Sawgrass, one of the nation's most high-profile golf facilities and the annual site of the Players Championship.
"I think I did pretty well, and I think it's a really good finish for me to end my college golf career," said Goh, who hails from Johor Bahru, Malaysia. "The pins were really tough today and conditions were really tough all three days.
"It wasn't playing super long, but you have to be very precise and know where you're trying to hit it and you have to keep the ball in play and on the fairway and hit greens. That's the key to playing well here."
It was the final time Goh will wear the action 'C' and represent Chippewa women's golf. She leaves the program as the best player in program history, holding or sharing CMU records for 18-, 36-, and 54-hole score. She posted one victory and 15 top-10 finishes in her four-year career.
She helped lead the Chippewas seven team tournament titles, four runner-up finishes, and five thirds. She posted CMU's low score in the last three Mid-American Conference Championship tournaments, leading the Chippewas to eighth- (2022), third- (2023) and fifth-place (2024) finishes. CMU had never finished better than 10th in the MAC Championship before Goh arrived on the scene.
She is a two-time All-MAC selection, three times she finished in the top 10 at the MAC Championship, and she is a three-time Academic All-MAC honoree.
"She's done so many great things for the program," CMU coach Ryan Williams said. "All of her individual accolades brought light to our program which is something that we needed, and it's helped move us forward in a big way.
"She came to Central Michigan from all the way around the globe, and she came here and handled herself the way she did and grew as an individual and became a leader on the team, a leader on the golf course. She was invested in what we were doing and invested in what she was getting out of the experience. She put in a whole lot more in than she took out and that's all you can ask for.
"It means a ton for us and it means a ton for the program and I think that as we go through the next few years she's going to be a big reason why some really good players decide to come to Central Michigan, and a big reason why we will continue to move forward and continue to build as a program."
Goh finished one shot behind Sonja Tang of Oregon and Jahnavi Prakhya of North Alabama and five back of the winner, Una Chou of the University of British Columbia.
Goh's first and third rounds came on the famed Stadium Course, and her second-round 75 came on the Dye's Valley Course, named for Sawgrass architect and builder Pete Dye.
Including the practice round, she made three pars on the Stadium Course's par-3 17th, renowned and celebrated for its island green which has proven time and again to give even the world's best players fits.
"In the practice round we got to tee it up where the professionals would normally tee it up and that was super cool," Goh said. "I'm proud of myself and I'm happy to say that I hit the green, three-for-three. Crazy experience for sure."
That Goh made par on 17, let alone on three consecutive tries under tournament conditions, is an impressive feat, Williams said.
It is particularly noteworthy, he added, in that in Wednesday's final round, the hole location was in its 'Sunday spot,' that is, tucked in the front of the green some three yards from the water's edge – just as it is for the final round in any given year for The Players.
"I got to walk every step of the way with her all three days," Williams said. "It was hot, and it was a long round every day -- six hours. She hung in there really well. She finished every round off in a solid way and she didn't let down, which is something that I always try to get out of our players, and we can always count on Ash doing that.
"She played really steady and hit some really great shots, had some really memorable moments out there, and that's what it was really all about. She did some things that I'm extremely impressed with, just like usual."
Goh is the first Chippewa to play in the PGA Works event, which brings together minority collegiate golfers from across North America, many of whom are enrolled in historically black colleges and universities, and Hispanic and other minority-serving institutions.
The tournament was contested in five divisions, men's NCAA Division I teams, men's NCAA Division II teams, women's teams from all NCAA divisions, individual men, and individual women. All tolled, some 200 student-athletes competed.
For Goh, it was the final line to her remarkable Central Michigan legacy.
"I think I've come a long way from my freshman year to now," she said. "There are records that I wish I did break that I didn't, but I broke a fair number of records so I'm really proud of myself.
"Coming into Central my goal was to make the lineup every tournament, play well, break records, and help the team move forward. Obviously, there are things that I wish I could have done better, but you can't have it all. It's been a great four years, honestly. I'm happy with how I finished and how I played."
Players Mentioned
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