Reigning NCAA champion Northwestern has received a massive blow in its quest for back-to-back national championships.
Arianna Lau, the freshman standout from Hong Kong who is ranked No. 33 in the world amateur rankings, has decided to leave the team and turn her full focus toward golf, getting healthy and eventually turning professional.
“Over the past month, I made a very difficult decision,” Lau wrote on Instagram a few weeks ago. “I want to dedicate 100% of my time in the coming days to training, preparing for tournaments, recovering, and competing, returning to what is most important in my life: my physical and mental health, my dreams and future career, my family and my life off the course. Therefore, I have resolutely decided to withdraw from university in the United States. Preparing for my future career, I will prioritize recovery over tournament.
Though Northwestern did not officially announce Lau’s departure, Lau was taken off the team’s website. She did not request to enter the transfer portal, meaning her next step will be deciding when she wants to join the pro ranks. She’s qualified for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur this spring, though obviously she must be amateur to compete.
Lau arrived at Northwestern as the highest-ranked recruit in program history and on the heels of the Wildcats losing two players from their title-winning squad that upset top-ranked Stanford, Lauryn Nguyen (graduated) and Elise Lee (transferred to USC). She reached the quarterfinals of last summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur before posting three straight top-10 finishes to begin his college career. She was T-20 at Stanford’s event, then helped the Wildcats to the runner-up showing at the East Lake Cup.
Northwestern now has just six players left on its roster.
It’s familiar territory for the Wildcats, who had eventual major champion Matt Fitzpatrick leave after just one semester on the men’s side, in early 2014.
“Arianna and her mom decided going back to Hong Kong to pursue her professional aspirations was best,” Wildcats head coach Emily Fletcher told GolfChannel.com. “Disappointing for sure. She speaks fondly of her time here in Evanston, and that is what I’m most proud of. We wish Arianna the best and will miss her.”