ASHEBORO, N.C. –
Fanni Gronlund claimed her first collegiate win and Campbell delivered Val Patino her first team head coaching victory Tuesday after the final round of the Tot Hill Farm Invitational.
Gronlund birdied three of her final five holes to finish in a first-place tie with South Carolina's Yana Beeli at six-under (67-71-72—210).
Jade Potter tied for fourth (70-70-74—214) and
Yukino Kudo finished T6 (69-74-72—215) as the Camels earned their first win of the season after runner-up finishes in their first two outings.
"The girls did great," said Patino, who has guided the Camels to a 44-2 head-to-head record over their first three tournaments. "All I ask is for them to fight and never stop, and they did that to the end. I'm very proud and this is the result of hard work. I can't wait for what will happen next. It was about time, because we've had two top-twos, so winning today was a great feeling."
Gronlund, Kudo and
Linn Svedlund (T16) produced their best collegiate finishes, while
Jade Potter matched her career-best T4 effort at the 2026 CAA Championship.
In a field that included four CAA teams, Campbell (279-288-293—860) finished at 4-under as a team, nine strokes better than league rival and tournament host College of Charleston (282-294-293—869) and 16 clear of third-place UNC Wilmington (293-291-292—876).
Even without freshman
Miah Rivas, who missed the event due to illness, in the lineup, the Camels led the field with 53 birdies, while also producing the best par-3 (+2) and par-4 (+16) totals in the 12-team event. Rivas won the individual title at the Golfweek Fall Challenge and led the team with a T5 finish at the Brittany Kelly Classic.
Campbell shot a 9-under 279 in the opening round – tied for the ninth-lowest 18-hole score in the program's 38-season history and led from wire to wire. The victory was CU's first since claiming the 2024 Golfweek Fall Challenge.
Gronlund opened the final round with birdies on the first two holes but fell to 3-over on the day after second double-bogey came on the par-three 11th hole. However, she birdied the par-four 14th and par-3 15th to get to five under. On the 54th hole of the tournament, Gronlund hit a 54-degree wedge from 70 yards to seven feet and drained the putt to draw level with Beeli at the top of the leader board.
A junior, who won the Finnish stroke play national championship over the summer, Gronlund led the field in par-4 scoring (-4) and was second with 3 birdies. Her previous career best finish was a T5 at the season-opening Golfweek Fall Challenge at Caledonia Golf & Fish Club, another Mike Strantz design.
"I played very solid," said Gronlund. "I had a very good first round; five under is my personal best in a tournament,
The last round was a little harder; made two doubles, but I made third birdies at the end that were very important," said Gronlund."
Potter finished fourth in the event in par-4 scoring (even), was T6 on the par-3 holes (-2) and T10 with 10 birdies. Kudo made 12 birdies (T3) and tied for the lead in par-5 scoring.
The Camels return to action Oct. 5-6 with the Mercedes Benz Intercollegiate, hosted by Tennessee at Cherokee CC in Knoxville, Tenn.
Tot Hill Farm Invitational
Tot Hill Farm GC | Asheboro, N.C.
Par 72, 6023 Yards | Sept. 28-29, 2026
Final Team Results: 1. Campbell 279-288-293—860, 2. Charleston 282-294-293—869, 3. UNCW 293-291-292—876, 4. Coastal Carolina 292-295-304—891, 5. Old Dominion 292-295-305—892, 6. Charlotte 294-296-303—893, 7. Radford 309-303-294—906, 8. Wofford 308-297-307—912, 9. Western Carolina 305-300-311—916, 10. Elon 300-300-320—920, 11. UNC Asheville 315-317-300—932, 12. Tennessee Tech 324-307-310—941.
Final Individual Leaders: T1. Fanni Gronlund (Campbell) 67-71-72—210, T1. Yana Beeli (South Carolina)* 72-71-67—210, 3. Carys Fennessy (CofC) 68-75-70—213,
T4. Jade Potter (Campbell) 70-70-74—214, T4. Pinky Chaisilprungruang (Charlotte) 68-72-74—214. *individual competitor
Other Campbell Individuals: T6.
Yukino Kudo (Campbell) 69-74-72—215, T16.
Linn Svedlund 73-73-75—221, T42.
Lohaijany Castillo 78-74-79—231.
The Course – Tot Hill Farm GC (Par 72, 6023 yards): Ranked as the No. 7 Best Course You Can Play in North Carolina by Golfweek 2026, Tot Hill Farm Golf Club is a bucket list golf destination experience as architect Mike Strantz intended. Mike's intent on providing visually stunning and challenging designs came from his hero of golf course architecture, Dr. Alistair MacKenzie. From MacKenzie's book
The Spirit of St. Andrews, he noted, 'It frequently happens the best holes give rise to the most bitter controversy. It is largely a question of the spirit in which the problem is approached, depending on the player. Whether he looks at it from the 'card and pencil' point of view and condemns anything that disturbs his steady series of 3's or 4's, or whether he approaches it in the 'spirit of adventure.'
