K-State golfer Carla Bernat is having a dream season — and so are the Wildcats
Many assume that a hole-in-one is the best score in golf.
Thing is, the vast majority of aces occur on short holes with a par of three. With that in mind, a hole-in-one is technically no better than an eagle on a par 4 or par 5. They all count as two-under on the scorecard.
An albatross is more impressive. If you drain your second shot from the fairway on a par 5 for a deuce, well, you just went three-under on that hole.
Kansas State women’s golf star Carla Bernat celebrated the first albatross of her career last week as she took first place at an NCAA Regional in Lexington, Kentucky, with rounds of 70-68-66 and guided the Wildcats to nationals for the first time in school history.
She only needed three words to explain how she pulled it off.
“It was easy,” she said.
There is no such thing as an “easy” albatross. That goes to show how well Bernat, who ranks No. 22 in the world among all women’s amateur golfers, is playing at the moment.
She only needed two strokes on the par-5 fifth hole at Keene Trace Golf Club. Bernat pounded a drive to within 150 yards of the green and then knocked in her approach shot with a 48-degree wedge.
“I’ve never done that before,” Bernat said of the albatross. “It was a really short par 5. I just hit a good driver and then a 48. I made it with backspin. It was easy. As soon as I hit it I was like, ‘Oh, that looks good.’ I saw it bounce and I knew it was in.”
Just like that, her dream season got even better. Bernat has won three tournaments this year, and two of them were as prestigious as they come. Not only did she claim medalist honors at an NCAA Regional, she also won a tournament at Augusta National a week before The Master’s.
Next up is a trip to nationals with 29 other teams from across the country at Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California, from May 16-21.
She has played in nationals before. But never with her teammates. That will make this week special for her and the Wildcats.
“It means everything,” Bernat said. “I’m just really happy we made it. I’ve been wanting to go with my team to nationals for four years. So getting that done was (amazing). It was more nervous playing the last hole in regionals than it was in Augusta.”
Bernat was born in Spain, but she moved to America to play golf for Stew Burke at Tulane. Then she followed him to Kansas State two years ago. She found a new home with passionate supporters in Manhattan. She has been one of the best college golfers in the country ever since.
This week, she will be among the favorites to win an individual national championship. If she plays well enough, perhaps she can give K-State a shot at its first national championship in a team sport.
Burke stumbled upon Bernat at a junior tournament in Spain when he was abroad recruiting for Tulane. He was there to scout a dozen players but zeroed in on Bernat after he watched her nearly hole out a long approach shot with a five iron.
He saw potential — and has been impressed by Bernat’s steady improvement to this point.
“It’s the day-to-day things that she does,” Burke said. “She came in as a freshman at Tulane and she knew she needed to get stronger and faster. She needed to get a little bit better in her decision making, with her mental game. And she did all of that. The plan was kind of laid out for her. But it’s very easy to get sidetracked. When you get good at one thing then you fall off on another thing. That hasn’t happened in her four years with the evolution of her game. She’s going to do this for a living.”
Indeed, a professional career awaits Bernat.
But not until she plays one last tournament for K-State on the biggest stage of college golf.
“If we just focus on playing good golf we’re going to do something cool in nationals,” Bernat said. “I’ve been told that this university wants a national championship. We’ve never had one. We’ll have a chance. Might as well take it.”