CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Lander Athletics history was made on Tuesday evening at Cleveland Country Club as Kajsa Lindqvist won the individual medal at the 2026 NCAA Division II South Regional.
The third win of Lindqvist's career is the biggest by far as it advances her to next week's NCAA National Championships for a second consecutive year while also marking the first time a Lander Bearcat has won a regional tournament. Lindqvist also makes her mark in the PBC record books as the first PBC women's golfer to win a regional tournament.
Lindqvist finished at +1 for the week and tied for the low-round of the event with a three-under 69 earlier this afternoon during the second round. She was trailing by three shots with two holes to play in the final round but finished par-birdie and jumped into first when Wingate's Olivia Meinecke followed up a double-bogey on 17 with a bogey on the final hole.
Lindqvist totaled nine birdies, one eagle and 33 pars and led the field in par-5 scoring (4.67 stroke average, -4 for the week). She will represent Lander at the PGA National Resort in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., May 12-14 in stroke play. Lindqvist finished tied for fourth a year ago in Boulder City, Nev.
The regional was originally scheduled to be played over Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, though the threat of rain on the final day necessitated the tournament to be altered to 18 holes Monday and 36 holes today – the inverse of the conventional 36-hole Monday and 18-hole Tuesday format employed throughout the regular season.
Lander narrowly missed out on advancing to the NCAA Championships as a team by three shots. They were +48 collectively in sixth – the highest regional finish in LU history – behind Lee (+46) and Barry (+45), who was the fourth and final team to advance.
Wingate claimed the regional title at +30. Tampa (+38) and Anderson (+45) were the other advancing teams.
The Bearcats posted the third-lowest single-round team score in the second round (295). Josefine Winkle finished +12 in 21st place. Winkle's third-round 75 was her best score this week as she finished ninth in par-5 scoring (4.83, -2). She tallied eight birdies and 29 pars. Lara Stifter was +22 in 61st place, followed by Sakurako Tanaka (+23, T69th) and Isabel Ewers (+26, 80th); Tanaka and Ewers were battling flu-like symptoms this week.
The Nighthawks posted a three-round total of 937, improving their score in the final round to cap the tournament. North Georgia turned in a 319 (+31) in the second round, led by Ellie Jane Riner's 78 (+6) and Cora Mount's 79 (+7). Abby Franks and Claire Bradford each carded rounds of 81 (+9), while Mackenzie Connell rounded out the scoring with an 82 (+10). The Nighthawks closed strong in the final round, shooting a 308 (+20). Bradford paced the lineup with a 73 (+1), highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 14th hole. Connell followed with a 77 (+5), while Franks added a 78 (+6). Riner carded an 80 (+8), and Mount finished with an 81 (+9).
Tabitha Hanely led the Saints with a 20-over 236 (77-85-74) and finished in a tie for 53rd place. Henriette Stranda finished in a tie for 73rdplace with a 24-over 240 (76-82-82). Victoria Veator carded a 25-over 241 (88-73-80) and tied for 78th place. Sofia Terzoli could not compete in the final round due to an injury. Addison King played the first two rounds while Halahn Lee played in the final round.
USC Beaufort's McLain Neal finished tied for 28th overall out of 104 golfers who competed in at least one of the three rounds. Her total score was 230, with rounds of 76, 74, and 80. On day two of the tournament, Neal posted her best round, shooting a 74. She recorded six pars and four birdies in the round, finishing at two over par. In the third round, she carded 10 pars and shot an 80 to finish with a total score of 230 for the tournament.
Team scores
1) Wingate 299-292-303=894 (+30)
2) Tampa 301-296-305=902 (+38)
t3) Anderson 302-307-300=909 (+45)
t3) Barry 302-301-306=909 (+45)
5) Lee 306-301-303=910 (+46)
6) Lander 307-295-310=912 (+48)
7) Lynn 294-309-310=913 (+49)
8) Erskine 299-311-309=919 (+55)
9) Lincoln Memorial 312-307-301=920 (+56)
10) Eckerd 315-300-309=924 (+60)
11) Rollins 316-309-302=927 (+63)
12) North Georgia 310-319-308=937 (+73)
13) Saint Leo 310-310-319=939 (+75)
14) Florida Southern 312-321-309=942 (+78)
15) West Florida 311-316-318=945 (+81)
16) Palm Beach Atlantic 311-315-321=947 (+83)
17) Nova Southeastern 313-314-323=950 (+86)
18) Flagler 310-312-330=952 (+88)
Top 10 individuals
1) Kajsa Lindqvist (LU) 73-69-75=217 (+1)
t2) Amely Bochaton (WU) 72-69-77=218 (+2)
t2) Olivia Meinecke (WU) 70-73-75=218 (+2)
t2) Leonie Sinnhuber (BU) 73-71-74=218 (+2)
t5) Youyang Li (RC) 76-72-73=221 (+5)
t5) Ruby McLellan (LMU) 76-73-72=221 (+5)
t7) *Mary-Paige King (CAT) 74-75-73=222 (+6)
t7) Aubane Statiotis (ECK) 75-72-75=222 (+6)
t9) Lina Lindqvist (ERS) 73-75-75=223 (+7)
t9) Hannah Nall (LEE) 74-76-73=223 (+7)
t9) Tereza Zavrelova (BU) 74-74-75=223 (+7)