Oklahoma State University Athletics
Taking The Turn: Cowgirl Golf Graduates Leave Impact on Course, Classroom
May 11, 2024 | Cowgirl Golf
Fresh off posting a record-setting round, the Cowgirls were packed in their vans, waiting patiently in the parking lot of Forest Akers Golf Club on Wednesday.
Maddison Hinson-Tolchard was in the middle of finishing up a final.
For Hinson-Tolchard, the Cowgirls and the entire university, striking the balance of academic excellence and on-the-course success has been held to the utmost priority. With four consecutive NCAA Championship appearances and 62 NGCA/WGCA all-scholar selections academic in its history – the foundation of success has been built.
On Saturday, four Cowgirls will go from taking the turn to turning their tassel. As the first four-year graduating class under head coach Greg Robertson and Maddi Swaney, each has made an immeasurable mark both to the Cowgirl Golf program, but also the Stillwater community.
"If you look over the course of four years, they've been a part of two Big 12 Championships, four NCAA Championship appearances and a runner-up finish." Robertson said. "I think, combined, they've got about close to a 3.7 GPA. It's been a special four years to five years.
"They've really done a great job of kind of helping get this program moving in the right direction."
With academic accolades including WGCA All-American Scholar honors, Academic All-Big 12 nods and contention for the Elite 90 Award – one of the NCAA's premier academic honors – the outgoing class has been an integral part of the Cowgirls' success.
Leaving A Mark
Ashton Begley saved her best efforts for last.
As a fifth-year student-athlete at Oklahoma State, Begley's impact was made on campus and at Karsten.
Crossing the stage with a double major in marketing and history, Begley has become a familiar face inside Spears School of Business, serving as a teaching assistant and a top-notch student in her coursework. Donning the honor roll in each of her five years in Stillwater, she received the 2023 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award – the Big 12 Conference's Highest Academic Honor – while receiving the General Honors Award from The Honors College at Oklahoma State last month.
The knowledge built in Stillwater was spread worldwide last summer as she also interned abroad for Born Digital in Prague, Czech Republic, as a marketing intern.
With involvement volunteering at the Stillwater Humane Society, a nonprofit animal shelter, and being a member of Oklahoma State's Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, she was ready when her name was called on the course.
That nod came during her junior year at the Red Raider Match Play, in which she logged her first start with the Cowgirls.
Begley's continual growth came to a head in April when she, alongside fellow fifth-year Jenna Solheim took to Lincoln Park Golf Club in Oklahoma City.
After firing opening-day rounds of 74-76 – 150, Begley, a native of Southlake, Texas, earned her second career top-10 finish with a 3-over 74 round en route to setting her lowest collegiate score in a tournament.
Begley will take on the business world next month as she has accepted a role in Texas.
What A Ride
Maddison Hinson-Tolchard finished her finals in the team bus.
It wasn't her first rodeo doing so.
Hinson-Tolchard, who joined the Cowgirls from Perth, Australia, has etched her name into Heritage Hall. Garnering a list of accolades including back-to-back Big 12 Player of the Year, First Team WGCA All-American, three-time WGCA All-American Scholar honors, two-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team and Oklahoma State Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors – the highest honor presented by the OSU Athletic Department to student-athletes – she will exit Stillwater as one of the program's most well-accomplished student-athletes.
As one of the first recruits under Greg Robertson and Maddi Swaney in Stillwater, Hinson-Tolchard's freshman year started behind a computer screen in August 2020. Due to embassy and consulate closures due to COVID-19, she couldn't obtain a visa in time for the fall. With a roster including LPGA Tour members Maja Stark and Isabella Fierro in the lineup, Hinson-Tolchard obtained her visa, and two weeks later, she was en route to Stillwater.
"It all came really quickly in getting everything sorted and jumping on a plane," Hinson-Tolchard said. "Once I left Australia, I was not allowed back. I was stuck over here for a whole year."
Hinson-Tolchard took a leap to the States and was all-in on Stillwater. From jumping on a plane and taking to Karsten Creek, she made her first start less than a month into entering campus at the SMU Trinity Forest Invitational.
The scorecard was nothing flashy, a 13-over 229, but with improvements upon each round – the path for progression was evident. After starting four more tournaments in the regular season, Hinson-Tolchard was a second-round sub into the 2021 NCAA Stanford Regional and never looked back.
Playing a pivotal role in the Cowgirls' 2021 runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship, Hinson-Tolchard had emerged from being the No. 652 golfer in the World Amateur Golf Rankings to being in the top 200 as a sophomore.
The journey was only beginning.
As the back-to-back Big 12 Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior, Hinson-Tolchard led the Cowgirls to consecutive appearances at nationals, the 2023 Big 12 Championship and the individual championship at the event, while also shooting up the record books.
After an offseason that included appearances at the Arnold Palmer Cup and the 78th U.S. Women's Open, Hinson-Tolchard has continued her excellence this season with the Cowgirls while earning trips to the World Amateur Team Championships, the Augusta National Women's Amateur and LPGA Q-School – where she earned Epson Tour status after a successful run at Stage II.
Entering the week, Oklahoma State's national hopes were in the balance. Entering her fourth regional as a Cowgirl, Hinson-Tolchard had experience going through the three-day tournament. She also knew the rigorous academics that came with it.
"Last year, it was finals week during regionals," Hinson-Tolchard said. "I was so stressed about doing all my exams that the golf kind of struggled from it."
This year – things were different.
Balancing credit hours and hours at Forest Akers, Hinson-Tolchard carded her best finish of the season with the Cowgirls, finishing 8-under and solo third with rounds of 70-70-68 – 208 to help push Oklahoma State to its fourth straight NCAA tournament – a feat shared by only eight other programs in the nation.
Individually, she's also marked feats with more collegiate rounds to play. As the program leader in par-or-better rounds and 18-hole score at 64, the second in birdies and on pace for third for scoring average in a season, the story of Hinson-Tolchard still has more pages in this chapter.
"It's been one of the best decisions I've ever made to come over here," Hinson-Tolchard. "It was a tough decision, but it ended up being so good. I feel like I've grown as a golfer and I've grown as a person. I've been able to meet so many amazing people.
"Now, at the end of the senior season, I hope I'm a good role model to everybody else on the team and for people to come with not only the accomplishments that I've had but also kind the legacy I wanted to leave on this place. It's been an awesome ride."
Beyond graduation, more chapters remain unwritten in Hinson-Tolchard's story in golf as she takes to the Epson Tour. However, her time in Stillwater will continue to earn its stripes.
"Eventually, I'm going to retire from professional stuff, and I want to do something else with my life," Hinson-Tolchard said. "Having this diploma in my back pocket was really important to me. It was important to my family.
"My mom and dad have always put an emphasis on education and how important it is. So I think I got that from them. And I mean, it's an accomplishment for me as well to say that I've got that diploma."
Hinson-Tolchard will be with her family for the first time since ANWA as she crosses the stage at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Striking Balance
Angelica Pfefferkorn was honored by The Honors College at Oklahoma State days before heading to the NCAA East Lansing Regional.
She was practicing out at Stillwater Country Club the same day.
This itinerary embodies the balance Pfefferkorn has displayed in managing on the course activity and academics throughout her four years with the Cowgirls. As a recipient of the General Honors Award, alongside Ashton Begley, for donning a 4.0 GPA across courses this year, Pfefferkorn's academic achievements have put her on a national stage.
Starting as a walk-on from Carmel, Indiana, four years ago, Pfefferkorn walks the stage Saturday on scholarship and as a nominee for The Elite 90, an NCAA award that recognizes the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA participating at their respective NCAA Championship site. The award is dedicated to one who has reached the pinnacle of competition and academic status – a standard that Pfefferkorn has set throughout her tenure.
Appearing in eight tournaments with one start through her first three years with Cowgirls, Pfefferkorn has posted a breakthrough season the program has never seen before. Starting in 10-of-11 tournaments this season, and slated to make her 11th on Wednesday, Pfefferkorn has become the first Cowgirl to appear in more tournaments as a senior than her first three years combined – but you never know based on some scorecards.
To close the fall season, Pfefferkorn posted a 6-under 66, a top-20 round in Cowgirl history, at the Jim West Challenge. As a starter in each spring tournament, Pfefferkorn's final-round magic shined again as the Cowgirls had its season in the balance.
Trailing four shots of the line and tied for seventh at the NCAA East Lansing Regional this week, Pfefferkorn fired seven birdies – tying her career-best set in San Marcos – en route to carding a 1-under 71. That round marked her best of the fall and pushed the Cowgirls to its lowest round ever in an NCAA Regional and a runner-up finish in East Lansing.
While Pfefferkorn has embraced finding balance in athletics and academics, she's also found a family in her graduating class with Begley, Maddison Hinson-Tolchard and Jenna Solheim.
"They're basically my lifeline when I get here," Pfefferkorn said. "Those three girls, we've all been through it all together. We've been through the highs and lows of golf together. Also, I'd say like the highs and lows of life, in college and growing up. So, just having support consistently from all these different places has, I think, propelled me.
"I don't think I could have done anything with golf in school without their support throughout the years."
Graduating with a degree in nutritional sciences pre-med, Pfefferkorn plans to enter medical school.
You're a Winner
Jenna Solheim's journey in Stillwater started far before the classroom. Raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Solheim was raised around the game of golf near PING Headquarters but started as a multi-sport athlete balancing between basketball and dance. By middle school, Solheim had expanded her range to playing golf every so often. But, it wasn't until high school she consistently took to the driving range.
As a freshman in high school, Solheim attended Oklahoma State's golf camp after hearing her cousins would be taking the trip to Karsten Creek. After ripping the plastic off her new clubs, a new passion was brewing in the game – and after fully committing to golf as a junior – she made her way to Stillwater as a walk-on in 2019.
Initially signed under head coach Courtney Jones and assistant coach Pär Nilsson, Solheim followed the footsteps of her father, Andy, who played for the Cowboys while earning his general business degree in 1994 and his MBA in 1998. Coincidentally, Andy was teammates with Robertson during his time in Stillwater.
"It really worked out for the best because he knew what kind of teammate my dad was, and he was able to think on that to know what to expect or at least hope to expect from me coming on the team as I did," Jenna said.
Off the course, Jenna has served as a leader both for the program and on campus. Earning her bachelor's degree in marketing and management in December 2022 and receiving her MBA on Saturday, Jenna embodied off-the-course excellence, serving as president of OSU's Fellowship for Christian Athletes and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee while interning at PING across multiple summers.
On the course, Jenna cemented a leadership role within the roster. While competing in individual tournaments throughout her tenure, she saved her best tournament for last, posting her lowest 54-hole score and overall finish in her final collegiate tournament – the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic. In her final round, she carded her lowest 18-hole score.
In team tournaments Jenna missed – she still left her mark as well.
Starting last year, Jenna began sending affirmations to teammates to help ease any opening-tee angst. A routine that will likely continue as the Cowgirls take on its fourth straight NCAA Championship next week.
"It started like, one girl I'd make sure to text in the morning, and then it became two girls, and then all of the sudden I was texting every girl good luck in the morning," Jenna said. "I started to do it because your mental game is so important on the course. I always want them to believe in themselves how I believe in them.
"It's four different words that I say, 'You are incredible, you're the best putter, you are loved.' Four words that I think would be helpful for them to hear and help increase their confidence.
"I always finish with 'you're a winner.'
"Just to have that in their minds before they tee off every day that they are a winner is important, and I tell them that I'm proud of them no matter what they do. I think that's one of my favorite things that I've gotten to do as a teammate."
At last month's Cowgirl Pro-Am, Jenna was honored as the first recipient of the Louise Solheim Teammate of the Year Award – an award dedicated to one who exemplifies selflessness, commitment, leadership and dedication to the program.
Jenna's dedication to the Cowgirl Golf program and community at large has permeated over the last five years – and those relationships will continue to thrive far beyond the course.
"My best memory and great accomplishment would just be the friends I've made and the community I have here," Solheim said. "I have some incredible mentors and teammates who have come through here, they're my best friends now. And to have the opportunity to come here and be impacted by so many different people, to have gotten to know many people so well – they're all over the world now. They're everywhere now, and I still talk to everyone on a very regular basis.
"I think that's the greatest thing about being on the team – the people I met and the friendships I still have."
Maddison Hinson-Tolchard was in the middle of finishing up a final.
For Hinson-Tolchard, the Cowgirls and the entire university, striking the balance of academic excellence and on-the-course success has been held to the utmost priority. With four consecutive NCAA Championship appearances and 62 NGCA/WGCA all-scholar selections academic in its history – the foundation of success has been built.
On Saturday, four Cowgirls will go from taking the turn to turning their tassel. As the first four-year graduating class under head coach Greg Robertson and Maddi Swaney, each has made an immeasurable mark both to the Cowgirl Golf program, but also the Stillwater community.
"If you look over the course of four years, they've been a part of two Big 12 Championships, four NCAA Championship appearances and a runner-up finish." Robertson said. "I think, combined, they've got about close to a 3.7 GPA. It's been a special four years to five years.
"They've really done a great job of kind of helping get this program moving in the right direction."
With academic accolades including WGCA All-American Scholar honors, Academic All-Big 12 nods and contention for the Elite 90 Award – one of the NCAA's premier academic honors – the outgoing class has been an integral part of the Cowgirls' success.
Leaving A Mark
Ashton Begley saved her best efforts for last.
As a fifth-year student-athlete at Oklahoma State, Begley's impact was made on campus and at Karsten.
Crossing the stage with a double major in marketing and history, Begley has become a familiar face inside Spears School of Business, serving as a teaching assistant and a top-notch student in her coursework. Donning the honor roll in each of her five years in Stillwater, she received the 2023 Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award – the Big 12 Conference's Highest Academic Honor – while receiving the General Honors Award from The Honors College at Oklahoma State last month.
The knowledge built in Stillwater was spread worldwide last summer as she also interned abroad for Born Digital in Prague, Czech Republic, as a marketing intern.
With involvement volunteering at the Stillwater Humane Society, a nonprofit animal shelter, and being a member of Oklahoma State's Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, she was ready when her name was called on the course.
That nod came during her junior year at the Red Raider Match Play, in which she logged her first start with the Cowgirls.
Begley's continual growth came to a head in April when she, alongside fellow fifth-year Jenna Solheim took to Lincoln Park Golf Club in Oklahoma City.
After firing opening-day rounds of 74-76 – 150, Begley, a native of Southlake, Texas, earned her second career top-10 finish with a 3-over 74 round en route to setting her lowest collegiate score in a tournament.
Begley will take on the business world next month as she has accepted a role in Texas.
What A Ride
Maddison Hinson-Tolchard finished her finals in the team bus.
It wasn't her first rodeo doing so.
Hinson-Tolchard, who joined the Cowgirls from Perth, Australia, has etched her name into Heritage Hall. Garnering a list of accolades including back-to-back Big 12 Player of the Year, First Team WGCA All-American, three-time WGCA All-American Scholar honors, two-time Academic All-Big 12 First Team and Oklahoma State Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors – the highest honor presented by the OSU Athletic Department to student-athletes – she will exit Stillwater as one of the program's most well-accomplished student-athletes.
As one of the first recruits under Greg Robertson and Maddi Swaney in Stillwater, Hinson-Tolchard's freshman year started behind a computer screen in August 2020. Due to embassy and consulate closures due to COVID-19, she couldn't obtain a visa in time for the fall. With a roster including LPGA Tour members Maja Stark and Isabella Fierro in the lineup, Hinson-Tolchard obtained her visa, and two weeks later, she was en route to Stillwater.
"It all came really quickly in getting everything sorted and jumping on a plane," Hinson-Tolchard said. "Once I left Australia, I was not allowed back. I was stuck over here for a whole year."
Hinson-Tolchard took a leap to the States and was all-in on Stillwater. From jumping on a plane and taking to Karsten Creek, she made her first start less than a month into entering campus at the SMU Trinity Forest Invitational.
The scorecard was nothing flashy, a 13-over 229, but with improvements upon each round – the path for progression was evident. After starting four more tournaments in the regular season, Hinson-Tolchard was a second-round sub into the 2021 NCAA Stanford Regional and never looked back.
Playing a pivotal role in the Cowgirls' 2021 runner-up finish at the NCAA Championship, Hinson-Tolchard had emerged from being the No. 652 golfer in the World Amateur Golf Rankings to being in the top 200 as a sophomore.
The journey was only beginning.
As the back-to-back Big 12 Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior, Hinson-Tolchard led the Cowgirls to consecutive appearances at nationals, the 2023 Big 12 Championship and the individual championship at the event, while also shooting up the record books.
After an offseason that included appearances at the Arnold Palmer Cup and the 78th U.S. Women's Open, Hinson-Tolchard has continued her excellence this season with the Cowgirls while earning trips to the World Amateur Team Championships, the Augusta National Women's Amateur and LPGA Q-School – where she earned Epson Tour status after a successful run at Stage II.
Entering the week, Oklahoma State's national hopes were in the balance. Entering her fourth regional as a Cowgirl, Hinson-Tolchard had experience going through the three-day tournament. She also knew the rigorous academics that came with it.
"Last year, it was finals week during regionals," Hinson-Tolchard said. "I was so stressed about doing all my exams that the golf kind of struggled from it."
This year – things were different.
Balancing credit hours and hours at Forest Akers, Hinson-Tolchard carded her best finish of the season with the Cowgirls, finishing 8-under and solo third with rounds of 70-70-68 – 208 to help push Oklahoma State to its fourth straight NCAA tournament – a feat shared by only eight other programs in the nation.
Individually, she's also marked feats with more collegiate rounds to play. As the program leader in par-or-better rounds and 18-hole score at 64, the second in birdies and on pace for third for scoring average in a season, the story of Hinson-Tolchard still has more pages in this chapter.
"It's been one of the best decisions I've ever made to come over here," Hinson-Tolchard. "It was a tough decision, but it ended up being so good. I feel like I've grown as a golfer and I've grown as a person. I've been able to meet so many amazing people.
"Now, at the end of the senior season, I hope I'm a good role model to everybody else on the team and for people to come with not only the accomplishments that I've had but also kind the legacy I wanted to leave on this place. It's been an awesome ride."
Beyond graduation, more chapters remain unwritten in Hinson-Tolchard's story in golf as she takes to the Epson Tour. However, her time in Stillwater will continue to earn its stripes.
"Eventually, I'm going to retire from professional stuff, and I want to do something else with my life," Hinson-Tolchard said. "Having this diploma in my back pocket was really important to me. It was important to my family.
"My mom and dad have always put an emphasis on education and how important it is. So I think I got that from them. And I mean, it's an accomplishment for me as well to say that I've got that diploma."
Hinson-Tolchard will be with her family for the first time since ANWA as she crosses the stage at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Striking Balance
Angelica Pfefferkorn was honored by The Honors College at Oklahoma State days before heading to the NCAA East Lansing Regional.
She was practicing out at Stillwater Country Club the same day.
This itinerary embodies the balance Pfefferkorn has displayed in managing on the course activity and academics throughout her four years with the Cowgirls. As a recipient of the General Honors Award, alongside Ashton Begley, for donning a 4.0 GPA across courses this year, Pfefferkorn's academic achievements have put her on a national stage.
Starting as a walk-on from Carmel, Indiana, four years ago, Pfefferkorn walks the stage Saturday on scholarship and as a nominee for The Elite 90, an NCAA award that recognizes the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA participating at their respective NCAA Championship site. The award is dedicated to one who has reached the pinnacle of competition and academic status – a standard that Pfefferkorn has set throughout her tenure.
Appearing in eight tournaments with one start through her first three years with Cowgirls, Pfefferkorn has posted a breakthrough season the program has never seen before. Starting in 10-of-11 tournaments this season, and slated to make her 11th on Wednesday, Pfefferkorn has become the first Cowgirl to appear in more tournaments as a senior than her first three years combined – but you never know based on some scorecards.
To close the fall season, Pfefferkorn posted a 6-under 66, a top-20 round in Cowgirl history, at the Jim West Challenge. As a starter in each spring tournament, Pfefferkorn's final-round magic shined again as the Cowgirls had its season in the balance.
Trailing four shots of the line and tied for seventh at the NCAA East Lansing Regional this week, Pfefferkorn fired seven birdies – tying her career-best set in San Marcos – en route to carding a 1-under 71. That round marked her best of the fall and pushed the Cowgirls to its lowest round ever in an NCAA Regional and a runner-up finish in East Lansing.
While Pfefferkorn has embraced finding balance in athletics and academics, she's also found a family in her graduating class with Begley, Maddison Hinson-Tolchard and Jenna Solheim.
"They're basically my lifeline when I get here," Pfefferkorn said. "Those three girls, we've all been through it all together. We've been through the highs and lows of golf together. Also, I'd say like the highs and lows of life, in college and growing up. So, just having support consistently from all these different places has, I think, propelled me.
"I don't think I could have done anything with golf in school without their support throughout the years."
Graduating with a degree in nutritional sciences pre-med, Pfefferkorn plans to enter medical school.
You're a Winner
Jenna Solheim's journey in Stillwater started far before the classroom. Raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Solheim was raised around the game of golf near PING Headquarters but started as a multi-sport athlete balancing between basketball and dance. By middle school, Solheim had expanded her range to playing golf every so often. But, it wasn't until high school she consistently took to the driving range.
As a freshman in high school, Solheim attended Oklahoma State's golf camp after hearing her cousins would be taking the trip to Karsten Creek. After ripping the plastic off her new clubs, a new passion was brewing in the game – and after fully committing to golf as a junior – she made her way to Stillwater as a walk-on in 2019.
Initially signed under head coach Courtney Jones and assistant coach Pär Nilsson, Solheim followed the footsteps of her father, Andy, who played for the Cowboys while earning his general business degree in 1994 and his MBA in 1998. Coincidentally, Andy was teammates with Robertson during his time in Stillwater.
"It really worked out for the best because he knew what kind of teammate my dad was, and he was able to think on that to know what to expect or at least hope to expect from me coming on the team as I did," Jenna said.
Off the course, Jenna has served as a leader both for the program and on campus. Earning her bachelor's degree in marketing and management in December 2022 and receiving her MBA on Saturday, Jenna embodied off-the-course excellence, serving as president of OSU's Fellowship for Christian Athletes and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee while interning at PING across multiple summers.
On the course, Jenna cemented a leadership role within the roster. While competing in individual tournaments throughout her tenure, she saved her best tournament for last, posting her lowest 54-hole score and overall finish in her final collegiate tournament – the Susie Maxwell Berning Classic. In her final round, she carded her lowest 18-hole score.
In team tournaments Jenna missed – she still left her mark as well.
Starting last year, Jenna began sending affirmations to teammates to help ease any opening-tee angst. A routine that will likely continue as the Cowgirls take on its fourth straight NCAA Championship next week.
"It started like, one girl I'd make sure to text in the morning, and then it became two girls, and then all of the sudden I was texting every girl good luck in the morning," Jenna said. "I started to do it because your mental game is so important on the course. I always want them to believe in themselves how I believe in them.
"It's four different words that I say, 'You are incredible, you're the best putter, you are loved.' Four words that I think would be helpful for them to hear and help increase their confidence.
"I always finish with 'you're a winner.'
"Just to have that in their minds before they tee off every day that they are a winner is important, and I tell them that I'm proud of them no matter what they do. I think that's one of my favorite things that I've gotten to do as a teammate."
At last month's Cowgirl Pro-Am, Jenna was honored as the first recipient of the Louise Solheim Teammate of the Year Award – an award dedicated to one who exemplifies selflessness, commitment, leadership and dedication to the program.
Jenna's dedication to the Cowgirl Golf program and community at large has permeated over the last five years – and those relationships will continue to thrive far beyond the course.
"My best memory and great accomplishment would just be the friends I've made and the community I have here," Solheim said. "I have some incredible mentors and teammates who have come through here, they're my best friends now. And to have the opportunity to come here and be impacted by so many different people, to have gotten to know many people so well – they're all over the world now. They're everywhere now, and I still talk to everyone on a very regular basis.
"I think that's the greatest thing about being on the team – the people I met and the friendships I still have."
Players Mentioned
Tuesday, July 07
Tuesday, July 07
Friday, June 05
Friday, May 29










