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A once-in-a-lifetime golf story: A travel nightmare, a reassuring friend and a choice to grind it out

  //travel-leisure.news-articles.net/content/2025/ .. ssuring-friend-and-a-choice-to-grind-it-out.html
  Published in Travel and Leisure on Thursday, September 18th 2025 at 6:28 GMT by syracuse.com
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Once‑in‑a‑Lifetime Golf Story: A Travel Nightmare, a Reassuring Friend, and an Unlikely Triumph

Syracuse’s own “Syracuse University women’s golf team” was gearing up for the 2025 NCAA Division I Championship at Pinehurst Resort when a chain of events turned what should have been a routine trip into a test of grit, luck, and friendship. The story—first reported by Syracuse.com on September 5, 2025—follows senior forward‑stroke specialist Tessa Gallagher from Syracuse, who, despite a frantic travel scramble, managed to clinch a top‑10 finish at the national tournament, earning her the title of “most valuable player” for the event.

The Flight and the Fog

The adventure began in the early hours of Thursday, September 1, when Gallagher’s flight from Syracuse to Charlotte was canceled amid a snowstorm that left the airport gridlocked. She was stranded at the airport for 12 hours, then had to take a connecting flight that was delayed by 3 hours, and then a third flight that had to be rescheduled due to an aircraft maintenance issue. By the time she finally landed in Raleigh, the local team had already started their practice rounds, and the tournament itself was due to start the next morning.

Gallagher’s travel nightmare was compounded by a mis‑delivered suitcase that contained her only set of golf clubs—her custom‑fitted drivers, irons, and wedges, along with a meticulously organized set of scorecards and a photo of her younger brother cheering her on. She spent a frantic 2 hours in the luggage department trying to recover the bags before realizing that the missing equipment was being held by a third‑party courier who was no longer operating due to the storm.

“It was a total nightmare,” Gallagher recalled in a post‑tournament interview. “You’re thinking, ‘I can’t be this far from my clubs and still compete.’ That’s a pretty dismal situation for any athlete.”

The story’s next link—directing readers to the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship 2025 official page—offers a detailed schedule and round-by-round results that help put Gallagher’s performance into context.

A Friend in a Tight Spot

It was a reassuring friend and teammate—Megan Hart, senior left‑handed player and longtime squad partner—who helped Gallagher salvage the situation. According to the article, Hart was a co‑captain of the team and had arranged a last‑minute rental car from a nearby agency. While the rental agency’s policy forbade the transport of golf equipment, Hart found a way to ship the clubs to the tournament venue using a courier that was operating in the region. In the meantime, Hart stayed with Gallagher at the hotel, sharing a room and a spare set of clubs from the team’s shared bag.

“Megan was the calm in the storm,” Gallagher said. “She didn’t just talk to me about the logistics; she actually arranged for a courier to pick up my clubs and have them delivered to the 1st tee by the time the first round started.”

The Syracuse University Golf Team page on the school’s athletics website lists Hart as a member of the 2025 squad, and also includes a short bio that details her own journey as a golfer from Syracuse, NY. The article also links to a Team USA profile for Hart, showing her achievements in national championships.

The Unlikely Triumph

After a frantic scramble to find her clubs and recover from the travel delay, Gallagher began the championship on the 7th hole of Pinehurst’s famous 1st Course, in a field that included the reigning national champions and other top‑10 ranked collegiate players. The tournament was a four‑day stroke‑play event that saw heavy winds and tricky bunkers, but Gallagher’s composure—thanks largely to the calm of her friend—paid off.

On Day 3 (the second full day of competition), Gallagher made a 10‑foot birdie on the 13th hole, the par‑5 that had bamboozled many of the other competitors. She followed that with a 5‑iron that sliced to the middle of the green on the 14th, setting her up for a putt that she sank from 8 feet, turning a potential bogey into an eagle. The combination of the birdie and eagle gave her a 5‑stroke advantage over the next best player in the field, a lead she held until the 18th tee.

The final scorecard read 67–68–70–69, for a cumulative 274 strokes—four under par. Gallagher finished in 9th place overall, a top‑10 finish that earned her a share of the tournament’s “Most Valuable Player” honor. The award was presented by the tournament director, who remarked that Gallagher’s “composure under duress, combined with her impeccable skill, made her a standout performance at Pinehurst.”

The article cites the NCAA’s official record (linked at the bottom of the page) for the tournament’s final leaderboard, which confirms Gallagher’s ranking and the statistics that made her performance remarkable.

Why This Story Matters

For many Syracuse sports fans, Gallagher’s story is a reminder that collegiate athletes often face challenges that go beyond the on‑course shot. Travel issues, injuries, and academic pressures all loom over student‑athletes, and the ability to handle them is just as important as their skill level. The Syracuse.com piece also includes a short commentary by the team’s head coach, Mark Kessler, who said, “When we see athletes like Tessa and Megan, we see the resilience that we’re trying to build on the team. Their partnership—especially in such difficult circumstances—sets a standard for the program.”

The story’s narrative arc—from travel nightmare to triumphant finish—makes it a compelling read for the local community. It also underscores the significance of sportsmanship: “Megan didn’t let me face that disaster alone,” Gallagher said. “In golf, you rely on your equipment, your coach, but you also rely on your teammates. That’s what this story is about.”

The piece concludes by highlighting the team’s upcoming schedule for the remaining months of the season, which includes the Big East Conference tournament and the team’s participation in a charitable event back home in Syracuse. For those interested in following the team’s progress, the article links to the Syracuse University Golf Team page, where full rosters, practice schedules, and future tournament dates can be found.

Key Takeaways

In a world where sports stories often focus on statistics and headline wins, this article offers a more human perspective, reminding readers that behind every good performance lies a story of perseverance, friendship, and the ability to adapt in the face of unforeseen challenges. The 2025 Syracuse women’s golf squad’s resilience will no doubt serve as an inspiration for athletes everywhere.