Noa van Beek birdied her final two holes to finish at five under par and become the individual champion of the Westbrook Invitational. 

A native of Oene, Netherlands, van Beek set the school record for a 54-hole score of 202, 14 under par. Her performance was two shots better than that of previous record holders Carla Bernat, Sophie Bert and Christine Boucher. 

This marks three straight tournaments where a Wildcat has claimed the individual leader, a first in Kansas State history. The win was the 28th individual victory for the ‘Cats and the 10th under head coach Stew Burke. 

“Our finish was excellent, especially Noa’s [van Beek] final two birdies to win her first individual title,” Burke said. “As a group, we know what we need to do better for our next event, and we are looking forward to a quick turnaround before California.”

K-State as a team also did well, finishing in third place for the entire tournament and trailing just Missouri and Arizona. The Wildcats finished at 27 under par, which was also a school record for a 54-hole tournament. In the final round, K-State shot 13 under par as a team, propelling them to their third-place finish and the program record.

“This was the reaction we were looking for after yesterday’s lackluster second round,” Burke said. “I am really proud of how all the ladies held in there to the end after a relatively slow start.”

On the final day, van Beek was joined by teammates Nanami Nakashima, Kelsey Chen and Julia Ballester Barrio, who all finished under par. Nakashima was right behind van Beek as she finished at four under for the day and seven under for the whole tournament, landing her in a tie for 11th.

Chen finished three under par for the day and had a bogey-free round, while Ballester Barrio finished one under par. Both Chen and Ballester Barrio ended the tournament at three under par, putting them in a tie for 28th place. 

K-State is currently ranked as the No. 26 golf team in the nation and has put together a good-looking season with multiple top-five finishes. The Wildcats will look to keep their solid play going as they head to La Quinta, California, for the Yale Invitational West held March 9-10.