Emma Worgum finishes strong for WWU golf

Wherever Emma Worgum goes, birdies and eagles are sure to follow.

Worgum, who won the 2022 Washington State 2B/1B Girls' Golf Tournament as a La Conner senior, has taken her game to a new level this spring, having fired a Western Washington University women's school-record round of 68 last month at the Sonoma State Spring Invitational in California.

Worgum, now a WWU sophomore, followed up with a splendid showing at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Golf Championship last week in Cour d'Alene, Idaho. She led the Lady Vikings to a second-place finish at the two-day, 36-hole event.

Worgum was the individual runner-up at the conference tourney, carding a 69 – including six birdies – during first-round play, after which she sat atop the leaderboard.

Her 3-under-par effort tied the single-round GNAC Championship scoring record. It marked Worgum's third career round in the 60s.

She finished with an even-par 144, adding four more birdies on the second round. Her 10 birdies topped the tourney field.

"I'm proud of how she handled the pressure," WWU Director of Golf Luke Bennett said of Worgum afterward.

"I have no doubt she will win one of these before her college career is done."

"She (Worgum) was right there toward the end of the round and gave it a great ride," Bennett added in post-tournament remarks to Jeff Evans of wwuvikings.com, Western's official news website.

Bennett said after the final round that Worgum's showing at the conference tournament was typical of her 2024 campaign.

"Emma was just rock solid all tournament – and really all spring – and it was so great to see her back up her great round yesterday with a solid showing today," he said.

Worgum kept her concentration even as an eagle swooped down and tried to abscond with her golf ball as it rested on a putting green.

"Each tournament seems to bring its own unique set of stories and experiences that enrich her journey and the legacy she's building in the world of golf," Worgum's mom, State Rep. Debra Lekanoff (D-Bow), said in a social media post.

Simon Fraser University, of Burnaby, British Columbia, captured the GNAC women's team crown, besting WWU by 14 strokes.

SFU's Dana Smith led the victors with a two-round score of 142, edging Worgum by two shots for the individual title.