Haley! Thrilling Finish (Salvages An Obnoxiously Slow) NCAA Women's Golf Championship

Arizona Wildcats, 2018 NCAA Womens golf champions

They covered the television spectrum of awful to amazing over the course of Wednesday's NCAA Women's Golf Championship: there was the moribund Karsten Creek, a Fazio design just oozing with ryegrass overseed and a level of drabness that exceeds even his established standards for expensive mediocrity.

Worse, it was a course devoid of spectators--beyond family members and officials. The only real sound came from a plane flying above to capture great aerials. 

All day there were players playing each shot as if it were their last, consulting pace of play-expediting rangefinders, only to then go to their yardage books and coaching insights as we waited, waited and waited for a golf shot to be struck. Then they got to the greens where they looked into green books and we viewers waited more to see golf shots.

It was enough to make anyone despise what has become of the college game.

Yet all of the tediousness was rendered (somewhat) moot when Alabama's Lakareber Abe recovered from a 17th hole debacle to hit perfect shots at the 18th and force a sudden death playoff for the team title between her Crimson Tide and Hayley Moore of Arizona.

Moore ultimately sank the winning putt for the Wildcats and besides delivering her the memory of a lifetime, gave us viewers the chance to experience a highlight improbable win by the 8th seeded-Wildcats. Good for Haley and her teammates: you were clutch and genuinely earned this title.

As for the college coaches and NCAA that have been handed the gift that is national television exposure: shame on you. No one in their right mind tuning in could come away with a positive impression of college golf when they see shots taking two minutes to play and absurd coaching intrusions and slow play. 

Okay back to the athletes.

Kevin Casey's Golfweek.com gamer. 

Ryan Lavner on the improbable journey of Arizona, a lineup somewhat cobbled together after a major mid-season defection and another attempted departure.

Moore's interview with Kay Cockerill after sinking the winning putt.

The final day highlights from Golf Channel: