Middle Tennessee wins historic start with Golfweek/Stifel Spring Challenge title

Perhaps nobody knew what drama was possible down the stretch at Caledonia Golf and Fish Club in Pawley’s Island, South Carolina, quite like Middle Tennessee State head coach Lauren Wamsley. After all, Wamsley’s team fell short of Coastal Carolina a year ago at the Golfweek/Stifel Intercollegiate despite a final-round charge. So this year, Middle Tennessee flipped the script and, in the process, earned something historic.

“The finish, it was so exciting,” Wamsley said. “We knew those three (closing) holes were probably the three toughest on the golf course but they had a good game plan and I was so proud of the team – they kept their composure, stepped up and hit really difficult shots in really tough conditions. ” This time, Middle Tennessee edged Coastal Carolina by a single shot in the final round and by three shots for the tournament.

Middle Tennessee finished the event at 24 over and led a tightly packed leaderboard where six teams finished within six shots. By winning at Caledonia, the Blue Raiders now have a fall start lined up in Columbus, Georgia. For the past five years, the Golfweek/Stifel Spring Challenge has run concurrently with a men’s tournament of the same name across the street from Caledonia at another Mike Strantz design: True Blue Golf Club.

The winner of that event receives an exemption into the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational the following year, and this year, the women gained a similar carrot. Middle Tennessee becomes the first team to play its way into the inaugural Haskins Women’s Intercollegiate, a 12-team event to be played at the Country Club of Columbus in October 2026. The field already includes Arkansas, Auburn, Pepperdine, SMU and LSU.