FINDLAY, Ohio -- Prior to the season, coach Shannon Sykora spoke openly and confidently that his Barry University women's golf team had something special in the making. 

He couldn't have been more spot on.

The No. 1-ranked Buccaneers overcame a two-stroke deficit in the final three holes to win the NCAA Division II National Championship by a stroke over No. 2 Dallas Baptist Saturday at the par-72, 6,206-yard Findlay Country Club. Freshman Charlotte Puts made par on the 517-yard 18th to clinch the title. Her playing partner, Dallas Baptist's Ann Parmerter, made bogey, and the Bucs won their first national championship in women's golf.

"I tried to stay calm until the end," Sykora said. "When Charlotte two-putted, it was the realization of a dream of mine for this team. We have a special group. They worked their butts off this year. Obviously, there's other good teams, too."

Dallas Baptist certainly one of them.

The Bucs shot 301 in the final round for a 1,222 four-day championship-winning total. Dallas Baptist's 1,223 runner-up finish was nine strokes better than third place Indianapolis' 1,232 in the 12-team, 72-player field. Last year's champion and Barry's Sunshine State Conference brethren, Rollins, finished sixth at 1,264.

Puts, who shot 2-under 70 in the final round for a 297 four-day total, was the individual runner-up to Saint Leo's Marie Coors by two strokes. Barry freshman Noemie Pare tied for seventh at 305, following a final-round 75. Bucs sophomore Tilda Larsson tied for ninth at 307.

Barry entered the final round with a three-stroke lead over Dallas Baptist. But the Patriots, who led the tournament through two rounds, erased the Bucs' lead midway through the day. The Bucs got within a stroke of the lead when Pare sank a 35-foot birdie putt on 18 after making a pair of huge up-and-downs on the par-4 16th and par-3 17th.

"Oh, that birdie was incredible," said Pare, who also birdied the 504-yard 15th as she settled into birdie-only mind focus mode, what with all the walking scoreboards around. "With all the scoreboards, I couldn't help myself. I looked at them pretty much the whole round."

Puts, who played the final 12 holes without a blemish, made birdie on the 166-yard 17th to pull the Bucs even with the Patriots. Larsson made par on the final hole to keep Barry in good position, and Puts was rock solid over the final 517 yards of real estate to seal the title.

"Honestly, I didn't know what was going on," Puts said, pleading innocence from scoreboard watching. "Only thing you can do is play your own game, and that's what I tried to do. I wanted to make as many birdies as I could. I made a really good putt on 17 that I was really happy with after I hit a nice tee shot. Then on the final hole, I knew where I stood, and that I had two putts, and that's what I did. 

"It's an awesome feeling to win this championship with this team. To really do it is a special feeling. We stayed patient the whole four rounds because this tournament was not easy. We managed really well during the whole tournament, and we were really confident. I think we all did our own thing." 
 

SUMMARY:

• It is the Buccaneer women's golf program's first NCAA Championship. Barry was the runner-up in 2002 and 2014.
• Puts' 2-under 70 Saturday tied for the low round of the tournament in an event where the average score was 79.48 over the 72 holes.
• Puts had 10 birdies in the four rounds, which was one behind Parmerter's tournament-best 11.
• Pare carded a 75 for the third straight round, backed by three birdies Saturday, and eight in the tournament.
• Larsson shot 77 in the final round. She birdied the par-3 12th. Her par on the 18th kept the Buccaneers in contention.
• Freshman Josefina Foa Torres shot 79 to tie for 19th at 313. She made key pars on the final two holes as the Bucs found themselves in the heat of a tight finish.
• Senior Martina Bertuccioli shot 81 to tie for 61st at 328. She parred seven holes on the back nine, including the last two.

NOTEWORTHY:

• It is Barry University's 18th national championship in school history.
• Barry won a school-record five tournaments this season.
• Puts' 70 was her sixth under-par and ninth par-or-better round of the season.  
• Pare's tie for seventh was her third Top 10 finish of the season.
• Larsson's tie for ninth was her 10th Top 10 finish of the season in 11 tournaments.
• Puts finished in the Top 10 for the ninth time in 10 events she competed in this season. She finished in the Top 5 in each of her final five tournaments, winning the Sunshine State Conference Championship during that stretch. 
• Bertuccioli competed on the 2014 national runner-up team.
• The Bucs led the tournament in par-5 scoring at 5.09. Rollins was second at 5.20.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:

"They're really young, but they're really good. We're trying to build on that."
            -- Barry fifth-year head coach Shannon Sykora

RESULTS
NCAA COVERAGE