It was a bleak and dreary weekend on Braemar golf course. Weather dampened greens, spirits and scorecards at the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championships, as ten teams went toe-to-toe for MIAC glory.
It had been almost two decades since the Scots closed in on the MIAC podium, their 2006 third-place finish faded in the record books. When thunder rolled into Edina, Minn. on the second day, the Scots were within striking distance of the leaders and held second place. A weather delay stopped play for hours. It could’ve derailed their focus or prompted excuses, but these Scots wouldn’t allow that.
The Macalester Fivesome didn’t let Sunday storms stop them from putting together a historic 54-hole campaign. Bailey Lengfelder ’26 and Ava Austria ’28 put the Scots in uncharted territory right away on Saturday and the Scots never looked back. They finished with a school-record 918 (+54) to secure second place and the program’s highest finish of all time at the conference championship.
It has been a season full of records for the Scots, who were led not only this weekend but all season long by their captain Lengfelder. The senior kept the Scots focused throughout the tournament, and set the tone early by shooting one under par 71 on Saturday.
“I wanted to start out strong and walking off the course knowing I accomplished that felt really good,” Lengfelder wrote in a message to The Mac Weekly.
Those Saturday shots led Lengfelder to a record-breaking campaign, as she smashed her own program record for a 54-hole tourney, shooting nine strokes under her previous best and posting a 218 (+2).
Close followers of Lengfelder’s fall season at Mac wouldn’t be surprised to see that level of dominance from the captain at Braemar. She set the course record there with a 66 during an early-season practice round that is the lowest score ever shot at “The Home for Public Golf in Minnesota.” The Scots’ strong season alongside the light at the end of the tunnel — their final tournament at their best shooter’s best course — was reason enough to believe we were bound to see something special from the Scots.
Saturday ended up being the key day of the tournament. They separated themselves from the field with a +20 performance that started their second-place run. All four of the Scots’ scoring competitors that day finished inside the top 12, with Lengfelder best (and second overall), Austria in fourth overall, Yangyang Gu ’29 at ninth overall, and Esther Shen ’29 rounding them out in 12th overall. It was enough to give them a 10-stroke buffer over St. Catherine University.
It was Sunday’s consistency that solidified the Scots’ silver standing after the surging break out of the gates on Saturday. It was the only day of the tournament that all four Scot scorers came in less than 10 over par, with Shen posting a +7 for the highest score of the day for the Scots. It was Lengfelder in the lead again Saturday, as she and Gu both shot +2 to pace the squad.
As the sun rose over Braemar on Monday, there wasn’t much stress on either side of the Scots. Macalester finished 32 strokes behind Carleton College and 38 strokes up on third place St. Kate’s
It was still a great day of golf for Mac, as Austria nearly made it to 18-under par before back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16. She tied Lengfelder at one over, wrapped up her best individual finish at MIACs — fourth — and found herself in the top 10 for the second year in a row with an overall +9.
“Finishing up the round on Monday, I felt a sense of accomplishment and pride for myself and my teammates,” Austria said.
Austria also broke the old 54-hole school record, but was outshot by Lengfelder.
If Lengfelder could’ve walked to the clubhouse and bought a par at 18 on Monday (on which she shot a double bogey), she would’ve ended up at -1 and finished even on the weekend. It will still go down as one of the great rounds in Macalester history.
“There is no limit to the good golf me and my teammates can play,” Lengfelder said.
It was a second-place finish worth celebrating for the Scots, but the weekend served as a coronation for Carleton, who had the best MIAC Championship performance of all time. It was an impossible chase for the Scots, as the Knights shattered the all-time MIAC record of 904 by posting an incredible 886 (+22). The Knights also broke the 18- and 36-hole records over the weekend. It was the best weekend of women’s MIAC golf ever played, bar none.
Bailey Lengfelder tees off at Braemar GC. Photo courtesy of Macalester Athletics.
While Carleton will bring home the hardware, Mac’s MIAC runners-up will not hang their heads. Lengfelder’s captaincy has set the Scots up for success both now and going forward, as the Washington native has set the standard for the program. The team will continue to build on this second place. Make no mistake: these Scots are still over par for their course.
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