If you walked onto the grounds of Long Cove Club this March, you wouldn't have just felt the Hilton Head breeze. You’d have felt the tension. The Darius Rucker Intercollegiate 2025 wasn't just another tournament on the calendar; it was a three-day slugfest that proved exactly why women’s college golf is the most underrated show in sports right now.
Look, people talk about the "Darius" like it’s just a cool hang because a country star puts his name on it. Sure, Darius Rucker is there. He’s a massive Gamecocks fan, he plays a private concert for the teams, and he hands out signed guitars instead of trophies. That’s all great. But once the first tee shots went airborne on Monday, March 3, 2025, the music stopped.
The Course That Didn't Care About Rankings
Long Cove is a beast. Pete Dye designed it to be psychological warfare, and at 6,413 yards, this par-71 track basically spent three days humbling some of the best amateurs on the planet.
We saw 17 teams show up. Twelve of them were ranked in the top 25. Six were in the top 10. On paper, it was supposed to be a birdie-fest. In reality? The course won. By Wednesday afternoon, the winning team score was 11-over par. Eleven over! That tells you everything you need to know about the wind and those treacherous Dye greens.
The Wildest Finish in Tournament History
What happened on Wednesday was sort of historic for this event. For the first time in the 13-year history of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate 2025, we had a dead heat at the top of the team leaderboard.
LSU and South Carolina both finished at 863 (+11).
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Imagine the scene: South Carolina, the host school, ranked No. 5 in the country, trying to finally win their own tournament for the first time. They had the lead. They had the home-crowd energy. But LSU—ranked No. 22 at the time—just wouldn't go away. The Tigers went nuclear on the back nine, specifically at the par-3 17th. They drained three birdies on that hole alone.
Because college golf doesn't usually do team playoffs in the regular season, it went to the "fifth score" tiebreaker. Basically, they look at the non-counting scores from all three days. LSU’s "throw-out" players were just slightly better than South Carolina’s.
LSU took the guitar home.
It felt a little cruel for the Gamecocks, honestly. They’ve finished as runners-up in 2022, 2023, and now this tie-breaker loss in 2025. But that’s golf.
Individual Stars Who Actually Showed Up
The individual race was just as tight. We ended up with co-champions at 1-under par:
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- Louise Rydqvist (South Carolina): The senior from Sweden was a rock. She shot a 212 total (72-69-71) to keep the Gamecocks in it.
- Kendall Todd (Arkansas): She was incredibly consistent, matching that 212 (68-72-72) and proving why the Razorbacks are consistently a top-3 program.
Seeing these two share the spotlight was actually pretty cool. They both earned those miniature glass guitar trophies. Behind them, the leaderboard was a "who's who" of future LPGA stars. You had Aine Donegan and Josefin Widal from LSU finishing T3, and Lauren Kim from Texas right there with them at even par.
The Field: A Preview of the National Championship
If you follow the Clippd rankings, the 2025 field was basically a "Mini-NCAA Championship."
- Arkansas finished third at +15.
- Wake Forest took fourth at +19.
- Arizona State rounded out the top five at +20.
It’s crazy to think that a team like Mississippi State, who had players like Samantha Whateley firing a 69 in the opening round, ended up finishing T15. Or UCLA finishing 14th. That isn't a knock on those teams; it’s a testament to how deep this field was. If you had a "bad" day where you shot 5-over, you didn't just drop five spots—you dropped twenty.
Why the Golf Channel Matters Here
One thing most people don't realize is that the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate 2025 is still the only all-women’s regular-season collegiate event that gets full live coverage on the Golf Channel.
It matters.
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The players feel the cameras. They know their families are watching back in Sweden, Ireland, or Canada. The 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET broadcast window each day gave this event a professional feel that you just don't get at a standard mid-week tournament in the woods.
What We Learned for the Rest of 2025
The fallout from Hilton Head is going to be massive for the rankings. LSU is going to rocket up from that No. 22 spot. South Carolina proved they are national title contenders, even if the "official" trophy slipped through their fingers.
Arkansas is clearly the most balanced team in the country right now. They didn't have anyone go "low-low," but they didn't have anyone fall apart either. In May, when the NCAA Championships roll around, that consistency is usually what wins rings.
Real Insights for Golf Fans
If you’re looking to follow these players, keep an eye on the Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA). Several girls from this field, including Hannah Darling and Eila Galitsky, are headed straight there next.
Next Steps for the Fan:
- Check the Scorecards: If you’re a swing geek, go to the Clippd Scoreboard and look at how the field played the 17th and 18th holes at Long Cove. It was a bloodbath.
- Watch for the Rankings: The new rankings coming out this week will reflect LSU's massive jump.
- Follow the Gamecocks: South Carolina has the Old Barnwell Derby Match Play coming up next—they'll be looking for revenge after this tie-break.
The 2025 Darius Rucker Intercollegiate proved that you don't need a $20 million purse to have high-stakes drama. You just need a Pete Dye course, a country legend, and a field of players who refuse to back down.