Francesca Sumcad (middle) shows off her hardware with runner up Ellen O'Shaughnessy (left) and coach Mia Landegren
Buffs Go 1-2 At Southern Colorado Open
March 24, 2025 | Women's Golf
PUEBLO, Colo. — Colorado women's golfers took the top two spots at the 2025 Southern Colorado Open which finished up Monday at the Walking Stick Golf Course.
Sophomore Francesca Sumcad took medalist honors finishing at 4-under-par, 140, outlasting her teammate, freshman Ellen O'Shaughnessy by two strokes. O'Shaughnessy, who had the best round of the day in the field with a 70, finished at 2-under, 142.
The Colorado duo, playing as individuals, were the only golfers in the 84-player field to shoot under par for the 36-hole event hosted by Colorado State-Pueblo.
"It's really exciting, I haven't gotten a piece of hardware in a while," Sumcad said. "For it to be my first (tournament) back after my concussion and everything, it feels really good. I was a little anxious coming into this because you try to keep your expectations low in your first tournament, but then I really had a day yesterday and really just tried to keep it relaxed and fun. It just turned out really well."
Sumcad, who started the day with a two-stroke lead, quickly put distance between herself and the rest of the field with three birdies over her first six holes. She made birdie on back-to-back par 5s at the fourth and fifth to jump to 3-under for the round and 7-under for the tournament.
"I walked in with some confidence knowing there were some good opportunities on these first few holes," Sumcad said. "I knew if I just placed it in the right spots, the rest will develop. I was putting really well so I had that sense of security that I could just do whatever I wanted."
That buffer would be all that Sumcad would need to polish off her first collegiate win, and Colorado's first individual medalist since Brittany Fan tied for the top spot at the Meadow Club Women's Collegiate on March 6, 2018. Sumcad would fall back to even for her round over the course of her final 12 holes, carding a 72.
O'Shaughnessy quickly moved from fifth to second in the early part of her round. After opening with four-straight pars, O'Shaughnessy made eagle on the 447-yard par-5 fourth. She had about 200 yards left on her second shot and used a hybrid club to get within 30-40 feet from the pin. O'Shaughnessy then sank that long put to record the first eagle of her collegiate career.
"I played pretty good, hit it well off the tee," O'Shaughnessy said. "It was nice to play with 'Frankie' a lot. I felt like we pushed each other all weekend."
O'Shaughnessy immediately followed with a birdie on the par-5 fifth to get to 3-under. She climbed to 4-under with a birdie on the par-4 11th before sliding back to 2-under on the day, five strokes ahead of the rest of the field. Dana Smith of Simon Fraser (B.C.) took third at 3-over, 147. Simon Fraser won the team competition at 20-over, five strokes better than New Mexico JC.
"I saw more of a fire out of both of them the last two days which was really fun to see," Colorado assistant coach Mia Landegren said. "There was no fear (in their game). They both just let it go and trusted their own abilities that they could play well. They battled it out (for the top spot), you kind of felt on the edge of your seat, that it could turn either way at any moment, so it was really fun. I'm really proud of both of them."
Sumcad and O'Shaughnessy will rejoin their Colorado teammates for the Chevron Silverado Showdown, April 7-9, at the Silverado Resort and Spa South Course in Napa, Calif.
Sophomore Francesca Sumcad took medalist honors finishing at 4-under-par, 140, outlasting her teammate, freshman Ellen O'Shaughnessy by two strokes. O'Shaughnessy, who had the best round of the day in the field with a 70, finished at 2-under, 142.
The Colorado duo, playing as individuals, were the only golfers in the 84-player field to shoot under par for the 36-hole event hosted by Colorado State-Pueblo.
"It's really exciting, I haven't gotten a piece of hardware in a while," Sumcad said. "For it to be my first (tournament) back after my concussion and everything, it feels really good. I was a little anxious coming into this because you try to keep your expectations low in your first tournament, but then I really had a day yesterday and really just tried to keep it relaxed and fun. It just turned out really well."
Sumcad, who started the day with a two-stroke lead, quickly put distance between herself and the rest of the field with three birdies over her first six holes. She made birdie on back-to-back par 5s at the fourth and fifth to jump to 3-under for the round and 7-under for the tournament.
"I walked in with some confidence knowing there were some good opportunities on these first few holes," Sumcad said. "I knew if I just placed it in the right spots, the rest will develop. I was putting really well so I had that sense of security that I could just do whatever I wanted."
That buffer would be all that Sumcad would need to polish off her first collegiate win, and Colorado's first individual medalist since Brittany Fan tied for the top spot at the Meadow Club Women's Collegiate on March 6, 2018. Sumcad would fall back to even for her round over the course of her final 12 holes, carding a 72.
O'Shaughnessy quickly moved from fifth to second in the early part of her round. After opening with four-straight pars, O'Shaughnessy made eagle on the 447-yard par-5 fourth. She had about 200 yards left on her second shot and used a hybrid club to get within 30-40 feet from the pin. O'Shaughnessy then sank that long put to record the first eagle of her collegiate career.
"I played pretty good, hit it well off the tee," O'Shaughnessy said. "It was nice to play with 'Frankie' a lot. I felt like we pushed each other all weekend."
O'Shaughnessy immediately followed with a birdie on the par-5 fifth to get to 3-under. She climbed to 4-under with a birdie on the par-4 11th before sliding back to 2-under on the day, five strokes ahead of the rest of the field. Dana Smith of Simon Fraser (B.C.) took third at 3-over, 147. Simon Fraser won the team competition at 20-over, five strokes better than New Mexico JC.
"I saw more of a fire out of both of them the last two days which was really fun to see," Colorado assistant coach Mia Landegren said. "There was no fear (in their game). They both just let it go and trusted their own abilities that they could play well. They battled it out (for the top spot), you kind of felt on the edge of your seat, that it could turn either way at any moment, so it was really fun. I'm really proud of both of them."
Sumcad and O'Shaughnessy will rejoin their Colorado teammates for the Chevron Silverado Showdown, April 7-9, at the Silverado Resort and Spa South Course in Napa, Calif.
| TOP 5 INDIVIDUALS | |||||
| Rank | Name | Score (To Par) | |||
| 1. | Francesca Sumcad, Colorado | 68-72—140 (-4) | |||
| 2. | Ellen O'Shaughnessy, Colorado | 72-70—142 (-2) | |||
| 3. | Dana Smith, Simon Fraser | 73-74—147 (+3) | |||
| T4. | Anaya Bhandal, Simon Fraser | 72-76—148 (+4) | |||
| T4. | Cadence Ko, Simon Fraser | 77-71—148 (+4) | |||
| T4. | Hinano Kishida, New Mexico JC | 74-74—148 (+4) | |||
| T4. | Lisa Ekberg, CSU-Pueblo | 74-74—148 (+4) | |||
| T4. | Nanami Hayakawa, New Mexico JC | 75-73—148 (+4) | |||
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