RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Robert Meadow was reaching for water bottles after carting his daughter Stephanie’s crimson Alabama team bag off the Dinah Shore Tournament Course on Thursday. It was a sneaky hot day in the desert for the Ulsterman, who has donned the white caddie jumpsuit this week at the Kraft.

Meadow, a junior on Alabama’s team and Golfweek’s No. 4-ranked player in the country, hasn’t played a tournament in the desert since junior golf. She was fourth at the 2010 AJGA Thunderbird International at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“It’s very tough; greens are firm,” Meadow said of the course. “You kind of just shoot at the pin and fire.”

Starting on the back, Meadow double-bogeyed No. 13 and bogeyed No. 15. She had three birdies on the front to get to 1-over 73 for the day.

Meadow attended a three-day Vision54 camp in January, and has kept in touch with co-founders Pia Nilsson and Lynn Mariott since. They waited for her off the ninth green on Thursday. This week, they have Meadow concentrating on decreasing the tension in her upper body.

“Their scope of things is so big,” Meadow said. “It’s ...

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RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – There’s a new carrot in women’s college golf, and the reward is major. The Annika Award – presented by the Annika Foundation and Haskins Commission – will honor the most outstanding player in NCAA Division I golf. The winner receives an exemption into the Kraft Nabisco Championship.

“We all want to encourage young girls to play the game, to stay in the game and to develop in the game,” said Sorenstam. ‘I think this is one way to do that.”

The prestigious Haskins Award, honoring the late Fred Haskins, has recognized the top player in men’s college golf the last 41 years. Winners of the Haskins Award include Ben Crenshaw and Phil Mickelson, both three-time winners, as well as Tiger Woods (1996), Luke Donald (1999) and Graeme McDowell (2002). This marks the first time there’s a female equivalent.

The award will be presented in the fall of 2014 at a soon-to-be-announced college tournament in Orlando, Fla. Golfweek is the official media partner of the Annika Award and will organize the college event.

Sorenstam, winner of the 1991 NCAA Championship, played college golf at Arizona and won seven tournaments. She turned pro in 1992, after finishing ...

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Virginia won the Bryan National Collegiate on March 31 at Bryan Park in Browns Summit, N.C. It was the Cavaliers' first title since Sept. 2010 and fifth in the program’s history. Virginia, No. 17 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, beat four top-10 teams to claim victory.

Notre Dame’s Ashley Armstrong won the Briar’s Creek Invitational on March 26 to claim back-to-back victories. Her three-shot win, was the third of her collegiate career. Armstrong shot rounds of 74-71-72 at the Golf Course at Briar’s Creek.

Final Scores

Virginia won the Bryan National Collegiate on Sunday by holding off No. 7 Arkansas at Bryan Park in Browns Summit, N.C. It’s the teams first title since September of 2010 and fifth in the program’s history.

Virginia, No. 17 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, also beat top-10 teams Duke (2), Florida (6) and Vanderbilt (8).

The Cavaliers won by four shots with a 5-over 869. Arkansas shot 9-over 873. In third place was Wake Forest at 21 over. Vanderbilt finished another shot back, and Florida finished in fifth at 23 over.

The Cavaliers could have swept the titles, but Georgia’s Emilie Burger shot a final round 3-under 69 to claim the individual title over Virginia’s Brittany Altomare.

Burger, No. 34 in the Golfweek Rankings, shot 72-70-69 for a 5-under-par total, one shot better than Altomare.

The Bruins have turned around their season tremendously since the return of senior Tiffany Lua. Coincidence? No.

In the fall, the team didn’t finish better than eighth in four tournaments. They accomplished the feat three times, at the Fall Preview, the Stanford Intercollegiate and the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational. In the Golfweek Collegiate Invitational, the first tournament of the season, the team finished ninth.

Since the return of Lua, UCLA has climbed to No. 10 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings and has three players ranked in the top 100. Lua probably merits a mention in that top 100, but hasn’t played enough events to be ranked. She has an overall record of 238-9-5.

The team has won three of its last four tournaments, the Northrup Grumman Regional Challenge, the Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate and most recently the Hawaii Spring Invitational. They had a chance to win their home tournament, but it was spoiled by crosstown rival USC. The Bruins finished second.

The women made history in the final round of the Hawaii Spring Invitational in Kapalua. Their 12-under 276 in the final round tied the school record for the lowest single round. They made 25 birdies March 27 ...

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There’s a reason Arkansas’ past two victories have come at the LSU Classic. The University Club in Baton Rouge, La., is no walk in the park, and its reminiscent of Arkansas’ home course, Blessings Golf Club. When players find a spot on Shauna Estes-Taylor’s roster, they learn how to play strategic, target-oriented golf. If not, Blessings would eat them alive.

It was a similar feeling during the final round of the LSU Classic on March 24. Arkansas was working on a wire-to-wire victory, but had to fight 20-30 mph hour winds in Round 3 to do it. It was a “pick a target, stick to it and try to find your golf ball” kind of day, Estes-Taylor said.

Arkansas’ final-round 21-over 309 was the second-lowest that day, and it was the team’s highest score of the week by 12 shots. The Razorbacks’ 10-shot victory marked the first team title since Arkansas teed it up at University Club for the 2011 version of this tournament. Arkansas finished second in back-to-back tournaments coming into the LSU Classic, and has not finished outside the top 5 this season.

“They kind of got ahead of themselves and started think outcome, not ...

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UCLA overtook Washington on Wednesday in the final round of the Anenue Spring Break Classic in Kapalua, Hawaii. The Bruins shot 12-under 276 in the final round at The Bay Course to win by four shots.

UCLA, ranked No. 10 by Golfweek, got a big push from sophomore Erynne Lee’s 7-under 65 in the final round, and senior Tiffany Lua added a 70. UCLA’s final-round score was the lowest of the tournament, and seven shots better than the Bruins’ second-round score. UCLA finished with a 10-under 854 total for a second victory this spring (the Bruins also tied USC for first at the Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate but lost the playoff).

The Kapalua event is No. 12 Washington’s fifth start in the past eight weeks, and its second consecutive runner-up finish. The Huskies won twice and finished runner-up twice in the fall.

Arizona State, No. 14, was third and Pepperdine, No. 32, was fourth. Oregon, No. 39, was fifth, which is the first top-5 finish for that team since October.

Stanford, No. 5 and aiming for a fourth consecutive victory this spring, was sixth.

Pepperdine’s Grace Na won the individual championship with her 10-under 206 total. She ...

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Welcome to Golfweek’s Midweek Report. We wanted to use this hump day to update you on all the latest women’s college news and give you a quick glance at what to look ahead to this weekend.

THE BIG 5

Stories you need to know now...

TEAMS

1. Arkansas: The Razorbacks hadn’t won a team title since claiming the LSU Classic two years ago, so it seems fitting that the victory to break that streak was in Baton Rouge. Arkansas finished 10 shots ahead of Tulane, earning a fourth consecutive top-3 finish.

2. Tulane: Speaking of teams that are talented enough to break a streak of almosts, Tulane earned yet another runner-up at the LSU Classic. It marks the third runner-up finish this season for the Green Wave, No. 20 in Golfweek’s rankings. Tulane has just one more start, the Bancorp South Rebel Intercollegiate, before the Conference USA Championship.

3. Kent State: The Golden Flashes won the John Kirk/Panther Intercollegiate at Eagles Landing Country Club on March 26. Kent State finished 11 shots better than Old Dominion, and earned its first victory of the season. This is a team that traditionally plays a difficult schedule, and ...

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Notre Dame won the Briar’s Creek Invitational on Tuesday, by finishing eight shots ahead of runner-up Maryland.

The Irish got better each round, first shaving 17 strokes off their first-round 317 at the Golf Club at Briar’s Creek on Johns Island, S.C. Notre Dame posted a final-round 1-over 289 to finish at 42-over 906. Maryland was at 914.

It’s the first victory of the season for Notre Dame, ranked No. 25 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, but the second consecutive victory for sophomore Ashley Armstrong. She finished the Briar’s Creek event at 1-over 217, three shots ahead of Furman’s Laura Wearn. Armstrong also won the Insperity Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate on March 17.

Coastal Carolina finished solo third at 52-over 916. Campbell, which has won five times so far this season. was fourth, and Indiana rounded out the top 5.

Tubert’s victory at the LSU Classic was the fifth individual title of her college career. Tubert, the 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion and a member of the U.S. Curtis Cup team, finished the tournament at even-par 216. She was five shots ahead of Tulane’s Maribel Lopez Porras and LSU’s Madelene Sagstrom.

Arkansas won the LSU Classic for its first team title since 2010. The Razorbacks shot 35-over 899 at the University Club in Baton Rouge, La., to finish 10 shots ahead of Tulane. It was a wire-to-wire victory for Arkansas, and the team’s fourth consecutive top-3 finish.

Arkansas won its first event since 2011 on Sunday with a 10-shot victory at the LSU Golf Classic. The Razorbacks held onto their second-round lead in chilly final-round temperatures and gusting wind to finish ahead of Tulane.

Arkansas, ranked No. 8 by Golfweek, opened with 5-over 293 at the University Club in Baton Rouge, La., to take an immediate lead. The Razorbacks finished with a 35-over 899 total, and earned a fourth consecutive top-3 finish. Arkansas had finished second in its previous two starts this spring.

“I’m just really proud of this group and the way they persevered today in some really tough conditions,” Arkansas head coach Shauna Estes-Taylor said. “To lead wire-to-wire is a really good confidence boost for this group. (Assistant coach) Mike (Adams) and I have talked to them about staying patient and committing to the process and that when it was our time it would happen. I’m really proud that they believe in what we’re doing and how they stayed committed.”

Tulane, No. 24, was second and host LSU, No. 27, was third.

Arkansas junior Emily Tubert won the individual title in Baton Rouge, earning the fifth title of her college career. Tubert ...

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Chirapat Jao-Javanil has a very simple explanation for how her Oklahoma team climbed to No. 3 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings – and for how it has held tightly to that position.

“We just really enjoy each other’s company,” she said. Maybe more teams should take notice.

Jao-Javanil is the defending NCAA individual champion. She won her fifth career college victory on March 17 at the Gator Women’s Invite as her team finished second by three strokes to defending NCAA champion Alabama. Oklahoma and Florida overtook Alabama halfway through the final round, and the tournament was so close that the entire field spent several minutes roaming around the scoreboards, waiting to find out who should be celebrating.

If the Sooners’ No. 3 ranking doesn’t say enough about this program, then that St. Patrick’s Day afternoon should. Oklahoma actively chased the Crimson Tide, and nearly won a fourth victory on the season. Alabama is ranked No. 4 by Golfweek.

“The field was really good here,” head coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell said. “We knew we would have to play well. The girls were ready for it coming down the stretch.”

Jao-Javanil, of Thailand, may be the most ...

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Welcome to Golfweek’s Midweek Report. We wanted to use this hump day to update you on all the latest women's college news and give you a quick glance at what to look ahead to this weekend.

THE BIG 5

Stories you need to know now...

TEAMS

1. Alabama: The team’s two victories in the past two weeks have shown that Alabama has figured out how to come from behind to win. That’s how the Crimson Tide won the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate two weeks ago, and after falling behind early in the final round of the Gator Women’s Invitational, it’s how they won that tournament, too. The next thing this team must master is putting itself in a position early in the tournament that prevents the necessity to overcome deficits for wins.

2. Purdue: The Boilermakers squeaked out victory No. 2 of the season at the Insperity Lady Jaguar Classic. Much of that final-round rally came from senior Paula Reto, who shot a final-round 68. Four Purdue players finished inside the top 10.

3. Texas Tech: Victory at the Mountain View Collegiate means a third title this season for the Red Raiders, which matches a ...

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