Closure, growth, symmetry: NGI serves different purposes for chasers Denver, Lipscomb
· Yahoo Sports
Credit Shannon O’Brien for keeping her Lipscomb squad’s eyes on the future. That will continue for the Bison until Sunday’s final round of the season – O’Brien’s last at the helm.
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Symmetry is everywhere in this program, especially for O’Brien personally. As her husband, Kevin O’Brien, took over as the head women’s soccer coach at Mississippi State this semester, Shannon grappled with her own timeline on the coaching staff at Lipscomb in Nashville, Tennessee. Ultimately, this weekend’s Women's National Golf Invitational at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa, Arizona, will be her last with the team.
O’Brien, a Phoenix native, is closing a chapter of her life in the same place it began. She learned the game growing up here and her parents are still in the area. O’Brien played college soccer at the University of Arizona, has coached soccer collegiately (including alongside her husband at Lipscomb) and only took over the Bison women’s golf team five years ago. It turned out to be one of the most fulfilling experiences of her career.
In the team huddle, Lipscomb chants a phrase that has been the theme of its season: All in, all out. O’Brien encouraged her players to go all in to be all out, and it shows up in every way that O’Brien talks about a squad with big heart, enduring respect for their coach and the maturity to keep the big picture in view even as the details around them change.
O’Brien tried to live her own message this season, too.
“I reflect on the time really feeling like I did go all in so that we could go all out, but the team’s attitude and their disposition and their support of me has been really incredible,” she said.
Through two rounds at Southern Dunes, Lipscomb is tied for fifth at 26 over. Wyoming leads at even par. If Lipscomb holds that position, it would be the seventh top-5 finish in 11 starts this season.
“Just enjoying the journey is so important because it’s like building blocks,” O’Brien said. “Once we’ve achieved a certain goal, it’s not that goal that has transformed everything, it’s who you’ve become along the way.
“We can all look back and say that who we’ve become along the way is better.”
The NGI, now in its fourth year, is an important stepping stone in this way for all teams, especially as women’s college golf becomes increasingly deep. It can serve multiple purposes depending on the season that each participating team brings to the desert.
For Denver, a team without any seniors, the past six seasons have ended with a Summit League title and the Automatic Qualifying spot into NCAA Regionals it brings (even though in some seasons, Denver carried a ranking that would have gotten them into the postseason anyway). Last month, the Pioneers finished second to South Dakota State at the league championship. Next year, they join the deeper West Coast Conference.
Denver head coach Martha Richards, one of the most experienced coaches in the women’s game, sat down with her administration as soon as conference was over. The NGI experience, she felt, was critical – particularly for a young team.
“Sometimes there’s just no substitute for experience and time,” Richards said. “If your team is like a garden, things only grow as fast as they’re going to grow. You can’t force them to grow any faster than they’re going to. You just kind of set them up for success and give them the tools and the resources.”
The NGI is exactly that.
After 36 holes, Denver is 13 over and the closest team to leader Wyoming, at even par. Richards has felt that the back nine has been her team’s Achilles heel, but she saw progress there on Saturday. Her team is adapting to the course each day as it tries to catch a Wyoming squad that is benefitting from the familiarity that comes with hosting an annual spring event at Southern Dunes.
As Richards pointed out, Denver’s best round of the Summit League Championship came on the final day, when they outscored every other team in the field. That kind of fight could show itself again on Sunday at Southern Dunes and if it does, Wyoming’s lead is not insurmountable.
Regardless, the NGI leaves a team like Denver with forward momentum into the following season.
“What a great opportunity for us, for our young team to come out and play one more tournament, play a really great event that they’re making us feel special,” Richards said of the NGI. “(Tournament director) Lance (Ringler) does an awesome job and we’re just so appreciative of it. It’s really big for the continued growth of our program and it’s something I think will continue to be critical.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Women's NGI serves different purposes for chasers Denver, Lipscomb