The night before the final round of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, Texas women’s golf head coach Laura Ianello told her team to embrace adversity. 

Heading into the last round with just a three-shot lead against Florida State, she knew the final day wouldn’t be perfect, but all that mattered was staying composed and, as she put it, showing “Texas Fight.”

Texas women’s golf held off Florida State on Wednesday to win the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, securing its first tournament victory of the season. Capitalizing on a historic round from junior Farah O’Keefe, the Longhorns relied on steady play across the lineup to withstand a late push from the Seminoles.

The foundation of Texas’ first-place finish was laid on the tournament’s opening day.

On Monday, O’Keefe carded 7-under 64, tying the tournament course record. After coming off a poor putting performance in the Moon Golf Invitational two weeks ago, O’Keefe spent the lead-up to the tournament sharpening her short game. That practice paid off on hole 18, when O’Keefe drained a long putt to cap off her day.

“She really struggled (two weeks ago) with putting,” Ianello said. “And so (we) kind of put her in solitary confinement, where she knew she needed to dial in with the putter stick this weekend, and she found it today.”

But matching a round like that is rarely simple. The same breaks that can push a player up the leaderboard can just as easily disappear the next day. On day two, inconsistency struck O’Keefe, as she posted a 1-under 70 with five birdies and four bogeys, allowing Florida State to chip away at Texas’ eight-shot lead.

“There’s so many different variables,” O’Keefe said. “Like, you could get a bad bounce, you get a bad break, you could shank one on 18. There’s a whole bunch of different things that happen in this game, and so to go try to back up the 64 like that, it’s difficult, especially because (of) all the attention that you get after.”

Led by sophomore Elin Pudas Remler’s 5-under 66, Florida State cut Texas’ lead to three shots heading into the final day.

On Wednesday, Florida State briefly tied things up with Texas, bringing the adversity Ianello had warned about the night before. The Longhorns stayed steady, finishing the tournament two shots ahead of the Seminoles.

“We know that every time that we tee it up, they can win,” Ianello said. “I think they have been diligent about showing up every day, sticking to what they know will get them better. I’m just so darn proud of this group of women right here because they deserve this.”

Despite Pudas Remler’s stellar second round, O’Keefe managed to keep herself ahead on day three to win the individual title, finishing just one shot ahead of second place. While some may see her performance as a testament to her skills, to her, it was a testament to her patience.

“Golf is a staring contest, and you just have to not blink first,” O’Keefe said. “So I stayed patient, I stuck to what works and I just kept chopping wood.”

The Longhorns will return to action at home starting March 16 for the Betsy Rawls Invitational in Austin.