GIG 'EM BABYYYY

Three feet. That’s all that stood between the Aggies and an SEC Championship. 

Of the thousands of miles walked over the last two years and all of the miles traveled; All that was left was three feet.

Junior Zoe Slaughter took her time. She analyzed the green and lined up her putt. She had made this putt a thousand times before. There was no bigger moment than right there on the final hole after over 100 holes of golf that week.

Head coach Gerrod Chadwell’s heart pounding as he held the flagstick just feet from his golfer - the kind of heart pounding that makes you wonder if everyone else can hear it too.

She took a deep breath and let it roll…

And she missed.

Seeking Redemption

The Aggies were two years removed from finishing No. 90 in the country and giving the coaching keys to the program to Chadwell. It is well-documented what his team accomplished. Chadwell’s first team’s magical semifinal run at the 2022 NCAA Championships was legendary. They stood toe-to-toe with giants and held their ground.

Still, there were boxes to check. Even with all of that success in the first year under Chadwell, the team hadn’t won a tournament title – not a national title, not a conference title, ANY tournament title. 

They did that in the second week of the season at the “Mo”Morial Invitational after coming back from six strokes down at their home course on the back nine to claim the title.

The Aggies in the 2022-23 regular season would win three more team titles before their toughest challenge yet…the 2023 SEC Championship.

A year ago, the Maroon & White had its worst performance of the 2021-22 campaign in Hoover, Alabama, coming in ninth and missing match play.

It was a kick in the teeth that the same five that would be competing in this year’s iteration of the SEC Championship would have a chance to rectify.

The Task Ahead

We all know the SEC is goliath in football, basketball, baseball, track & field, softball and everything in between.

But there could be a strong argument made that women’s golf is the best.

FIVE, yep count ’em, FIVE schools in the SEC were in the top 10 in the country at the start of the championship and eight teams stood in the top 25.

In order to make match play and compete for a title, the Aggies would need to be in the top eight by the end of 54 holes of stroke play.

Firm greens, looming bad weather and an elite field stood in the way.

But for Chadwell, this year felt different.

“We are a tighter knit group this year. They have taken care of their business on the course and off the course and when they do that, there isn’t a whole lot to worry about,” Chadwell said before the start of play.

If you were at the practice round on Tuesday, you could see what he was talking about. You could have asked every team there who they thought the loosest team was and they would have all said the same thing…

Those Aggies.

While most other teams looked nervous or even a bit robotic, the Aggies were laughing, joking, playing games on the practice putting green and enjoying the moment. 

One moment that really captured that was when Blanca Fernández García-Poggio was working on her wedges and Chadwell stepped out in front of her to help her work on hitting the number.

He stood about 80 yards away and Blanca took a swipe with her club and placed it right at her head coach’s feet. If you need proof, you can head to @shortgameG on instagram.

Overcoming the Field

Unfortunately, the first round looked a lot like last year as A&M shot 7-over 295 and was tied for 10th. It was early, but you could see that the team knew there was more in them. 

"We did not have a very tidy day,” Chadwell said after the round. "We made the turn in solid position but leaked some oil on the back nine. However, the leaderboard is jammed up and this will come down to a couple of shots to decide who goes to match play. We are right in there. If today is our bad round, then we can build on that. Any team can make it to Saturday, and I am excited to get back out there tomorrow."

The leaderboard was such a log jam that anyone still had a chance with the teams in 2nd-13th only separated by six strokes.

However, a golfer’s worst nightmare was coming…wind and rain.

The second round felt in doubt as the morning was plagued with driving rain and winds up to 25 mph. Fortunately for the tournament, maybe not so much for the teams, there was no lightning, so play was on.

Fernández García-Poggio started the day in her rain jacket and A&M beanie on hole 10 and promptly notched a birdie on the second hole of the day.

That would be one of four counting birdies for the Aggies in the second round. The course was brutal, and the early rain made the course feel more like a par 78 than the traditional par 72.

This day, however, was not about birdies and eagles. It was about minimizing the damage and falling as slow as possible. 

A&M was 13-over thru 13 holes but were rising on the team leaderboard. Conditions began to improve with five holes remaining and so did the Aggies’ play.

On a day full of bogeys, double bogeys and sometimes triple bogeys, A&M began to fall the slowest.

Through the final stretch, the Maroon & White were +1 as Jennie Park walked up to the final tee box to close out the day.

Of course, right as she began her walk to the middle of the fairway where her ball landed, the sky opened right back up and Park would have to play her final 200 yards through a little bit more rain.

She stood underneath the umbrella with her coach and analyzed how she would approach the green. She committed to a club and placed it within 12 feet of the pin.

Park marched right up to her ball and like out of a movie the sky cleared, and she walked in her birdie putt to give A&M an even score through the last five holes and helped secure them a place in the top four heading into the last 18 of stroke play.

The final day saw no backing into match play for the Aggies. They dominated the course and shot the second-best score of any team that day. They were led by Fernández García-Poggio who shot a 3-under 69, and A&M was into match play at the SEC Championship for the first time in program history.

The team’s energy was off the charts and the chemistry was incredible. A big part of this was Lana Calibuso-Kwee, who made the trip as an alternate. She could be seen encouraging her teammates, jumping from hole to hole to keep spirits high.

“It takes a special person to come here in a substitute role and stay ready every day,” Chadwell said. “She has embodied the 12th Man and has been cheering on her teammates.”

Next up, the Gators.

Yours vs. Mine

Admittedly, there won’t be a whole lot written about the Florida match, because the Aggies dominated from start to finish.

A&M overwhelmed the Gators, winning 4-1 and three Aggies didn’t let their match reach the tee box of the 17th hole.

The most important part about this match was that it was to be followed immediately by the semifinals, which was against the No. 4 team in the country. The South Carolina Gamecocks.

The Gamecocks were led by the No. 10 amateur in the world in Hannah Darling and had one of the most complete lineups in the country.

Hailee Cooper and Darling was the matchup a lot of folks probably thought that would be quick work for the South Carolina sophomore.

Well, it was quick work. But Cooper was the one coming out on top. The fifth-year senior with All-American pedigree proved that she was still one of the best in the country. Coop, as her teammates call her, dominated Darling 4&3, and got the first point for the Aggies.

Park also had a strong showing for A&M, winning 2&1, and securing the second point for her team. All that was left was one point to get with two Aggie golfers still on the course. 

Little did anyone know what was next.

Aggies Fight

Adela Cernousek was in a back-and-forth match with her opponent that culminated in a tie after 18 holes. Fernández García-Poggio was down by three holes with six remaining and stormed back to tie her match, winning three-straight. She was also in a dead heat at the end of 18.

Sudden death for both Aggies. Fernández García-Poggio was the first to begin her playoff which started on the 10th hole. Cernousek followed her teammate, and it was a race to see if A&M could close the deal.

Usually in a playoff, you see things go quick. Maybe one or two holes because of the mounting pressure and the physical fatigue.

Someone folds.

Well, not this time. Both A&M golfers remaining went to another playoff hole.

Then another.

Then another.

THEN ANOTHER.

Fernández García-Poggio had just wrapped up her fourth playoff hole on No. 18 as Cernousek was close behind in the fairway watching her teammate ride back to No. 10.

Cernousek gave everything she had, but her opponent made a slightly better play on 18 and got in for birdie to end their duel and tie the match up 2-2.

Now it was a race back to 10. The only Aggies with Fernández García-Poggio were Slaughter and assistant coach Giovana Maymon. Everyone else was in a mad dash to try and cheer on their respective team.

As the masses turned the corner down No. 10’s fairway, it was clear that there was a conclusion to the madness.

Fernández García-Poggio had won her match with a textbook par and finalized one of the greatest matches in SEC Championship history. The rest of her team embraced her as they finally reached her somewhere on the fairway of No. 10, 1.5 hours after their match should have ended.

A&M was heading to the championship match to fight for their second SEC title in program history. They would have to shrug off the emotional and physical toll that they had just endured. 

However, the Aggie Spirit has no limits and as Chadwell said to the camera as he was walking off the fairway.

“GIG ’EM, BABYYYYY”

Another Checked Box

A&M and No. 5 Mississippi State was the matchup. The only two left standing.

The sun had yet to rise as both teams arrived at the course and a familiar “Gig ‘Em Baby” could be heard from the Aggie team. Battle cries come organically and this one was no different. 

The match began promptly at 7:30 a.m. with Fernández García-Poggio teeing off at No. 1.

By the time all five Aggies had made it through the second hole, all five had a lead. A&M was blitzing the Bulldogs on the front nine. Park won six of the first seven holes in her match. 

The team from Aggieland was in complete control.

But the Bulldogs responded and started to make it a match in front of 200+ Mississippi State faithfuls who had made the 2.5-hour trip from Starkville.

Park would wrap her matchup in dominant fashion in just over three hours 6&5, but her teammates were in battles.

Cernousek was tied thru 14 with State’s ace, Julia Lopez Ramirez. Cooper was also tied thru 14, Slaughter had a one-hole advantage and Fernández García-Poggio was down one with just four holes left.

Both Fernández García-Poggio and Cernousek would fall in their matches 2UP, leaving just Cooper and Slaughter to try and secure the final two points for the title.

If one loses, A&M loses.

And as Slaughter had lost her lead on No. 17 to State’s animated and boisterous Surapa Janthamunee, it felt as though all the momentum was with the Bulldogs.

The two would tie 18 and head to No. 10 for a playoff while Cooper was heading to No. 17 to hopefully end her match with a victory on the hole.

Janthamunee and Slaughter’s tee shots on the par-four No. 10 were solid with Slaughter’s in a slightly better position. 

As much as it felt on that course that everything was going State’s way, that immediately flipped when both of the Bulldog’s golfers put their next shots in the bunkers of their respective holes and A&M was safely on the green.

The Bulldogs would dig themselves out of the sand as A&M watched. Slaughter and Cooper both looking at a two-putts to win their points. Just 100 yards away from Slaughter, Cooper secured her point as Aggie whoops rang out on the course. 

At this point, Slaughter had already taken a shot at her first putt and was now just three feet away for the win.

If you recall at the beginning of this story, Slaughter missed that three-footer. The SEC Championship seemingly slipped right out of the Aggies’ hands. You could feel it in the air.

Although maybe everyone there that day or watching on TV felt that way. The only person that mattered in that moment was making her way to the next tee box.

As Slaughter approached the 20th hole of the match, she thought silently…

“Trust yourself”

Both golfers would tie No. 16 after Slaughter shrugged off what happened the hole before and head to No. 17.

Janthamunee was first to tee off on the par-three and this was the very hole she had tied the match at just four holes prior. She lined up and made her shot, but this time right, into the front bunker.

Slaughter knew this was her chance.

Just give the ball a chance and let it rip.

Her tee shot was off, and everyone was glued to the sky as the ball struck the firm green like a basketball hitting hardwood and settled in about 30 feet from the pin.

Her team and the rest of the Aggies in attendance whooped as she made the walk to the green and made the course feel more like Kyle Field on a Saturday night.

Janthamunee would once again dig out of the bunker and her ball was about 20 feet from the hole. Now Slaughter was up for a chance to end it, but more than likely looking at a two putt.

She made her second attempt on the hole and her speed was perfect as the ball rolled just three feet from the cup.

Her opponent was up next and made a valiant roll on her third shot, but it didn’t fall, and it all came down to this.

How often do you get the chance to redeem your biggest failure just 30 minutes after it happened?

Not only a chance at redemption, but Slaughter had essentially the same exact putt that she had failed to sink earlier. 

“I was shaking the whole time,” Slaughter said. “I was trying to pretend that I was by myself on the putting green.”

Just stick to your line and go for it.

She went through her routine, walked over the ball and this time the ball was at the bottom of the hole waiting for her.

Images of her team mobbing her on the green are what everyone sees. They remember coach Chadwell’s emotional post-match interview. They will never forget Slaughter’s mother on national TV.

But we hope you don’t forget the 12 total playoff holes. Don’t forget the battle through the rain on day two. Don’t forget that this team failed to make match play the year before. Never forget that Zoe missed on 10.

All of these moments make the championship all the more special.

This group’s story is still being written. They learn their fate for the NCAA Regional on April 26, but for now you can call them SEC Champs, and if you see one of them make sure to say…

GIG ‘EM BABYYYYY!