- Columbia Country Club photo

Nearly a year to the day when college sports, and the rest of the world was brought to a standstill due to COVID-19, the eyes of college golf turn to Columbia, South Carolina as some of the best women’s golf teams in the nation descend on the Palmetto state to duke it out for a bit more than just bragging rights.

Golfstat No. 1 Baylor bellies up to the table, putting their undefeated season on the line and looking for a sixth straight team victory. As the most complete field of the women’s college season, the Gamecock Invitational also welcomes three more top five teams. Host South Carolina (No. 2); No. 4 LSU, and No. 5 Wake Forest are all set to tee it up. No. 7 Ole Miss makes for half of Golfstat’s top five playing in the field.

Sprinkle in a few more SEC teams and No. 22 Duke and the Gamecock Intercollegiate has 11 of the top 25 teams in the country.

Of course, with top teams in the field, top players follow. 21 players competing this week will play in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at the end of the month. As much as each student-athlete is working towards the NCAA championship in Arizona, the road to Augusta is just as, if not more important when it comes to individual accolades.

Until then, what lies ahead this week is arguably the best womens golf tournament of the season so far. Both Baylor and Wake Forest are coming off of wins. Could this week be a preview of what is to come at the NCAA championship in late May?

Time will tell but if you consider yourself a fan of golf, keep your eyes on the leaderboard this week.