Leah Herzog Season 2019-20

Sophomore (2020-21)
Leah Herzog did not compete for the Huskers in her second season at Nebraska in 2020-21. She enjoyed a strong freshman year with the Huskers in 2019-20 before the season came to an abrupt end because of the worldwide outbreak of the coronavirus.

Herzog produced the fifth-best stroke average by a freshman in school history (76.65) while joining fellow Minnesotan Kate Smith as the only Huskers to compete in all 17 rounds last season. Herzog’s 66 (-6) in the first round of the Golfweek Conference Challenge was the best round by a true freshman in Husker history.

During the summer of 2020, Herzog tied for seventh at the Minnesota Women’s Amateur, which was won by Smith.  

Freshman (2019-20)
The 2019 Minnesota Ms. Golf and a four-time All-Minnesota selection, Herzog made an immediate impact on an experienced Nebraska lineup in 2019-20. The true freshman from Red Wing, Minn., joined senior Kate Smith as the only Huskers to play in all 17 rounds for Nebraska in 2019-20. Herzog finished with a 76.65 stroke average on the year.

Herzog opened her Husker career with a three-round total of 228 (77-76-75) to tie for 63rd at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. (Sept. 9-10). She fired a Husker true freshman-record round of 66 (-6) in the first round of the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Wolcott, Colo. (Sept. 23). She tied for 57th at Golfweek with a three-round total of 227 (66-77-84).

Herzog added a career-best tie for 36th (79-80-159) at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational in Sammamish, Wash. (Oct. 8-9). She closed the fall with a tie for 71st at 234 (77-77-80) in the Battle at the Beach in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico (Nov. 1-3).

She opened the spring strong with rounds of 72 and 73 at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic, but suffered a hip injury late in the second round, which affected her in the final round as she settled for an 85. Herzog closed the tournament in a tie for 56th (230).

She produced the best tournament score of her young career (77-74-74-225) at the Westbrook Spring Invitational (Feb. 23-24). 

Herzog joined Kate Smith in continuing a strong tradition of Minnesota golfers at Nebraska. The 2019-20 season marked the 10th consecutive year that the Husker roster featured at least one golfer from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Before Nebraska
Herzog captured back-to-back Minnesota Class 2A individual state runner-up finishes in 2018 and 2019 at Red Wing High School. She led Red Wing to the 2019 state team title for its sixth consecutive top-three team finish.

Minnesota’s Ms. Golf as a senior in 2019, Herzog posted a 69.4 stroke average on the season, which represented a two-stroke improvement over her junior season. 

A four-time all-state selection, Herzog set the Jewel Course record with a six-under-par 65 to claim medalist honors at the Jewel Invite. As a senior, she added the course record with another 65 at The Bridges. 

As a sophomore in 2017, Herzog finished seventh individually at state. She finished 23rd at the high school state championship as a freshman in 2016, after taking 17th individually as an eighth-grader in 2015.

In 2015, she helped the Wingers to the state championship. Red Wing added a state runner-up finish in Class 3A in 2017, and finished third at state in 2014, 2016 and 2018, before adding a Class 2A state championship in 2019.

Herzog was also the 2017 Minnesota Section Girls Junior PGA Championship winner. She finished third at the 2019 Minnesota Girls Junior PGA Championship at the Jewel Club, including a final-round 68. She also won the 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur Sectional Qualifier at Northfork Golf Course in Ramsey.

The Nebraska women’s golf team has regularly featured Minnesota golfers in its lineup for the better part of two decades, since Jackie Beste (Sauk Centre, 2003-06) joined the Huskers. She was followed by Chrissie McArdle (Eden Prairie, 2004-07), Steffi Neisen (New Prague, 2011-14) and Cassie Deeg (Hugo, 2013-16), who all played at the top of the Nebraska lineup before current Husker senior Kate Smith (Detroit Lakes, 2017-present) took the torch. The 2019-20 season marks the 10th consecutive year that Nebraska has had a Minnesotan in its starting lineup. Those five Minnesota golfers have combined to earn 13 academic all-conference honors, eight WGCA Scholastic All-America awards and five Big Ten Sportsmanship awards as Huskers.

Personal    
The daughter of Mark and Pam Herzog, Leah has two older brothers, Patrick and Jordan, and two older sisters, Brittany and Stephanie. Her father, Mark, was Red Wing’s head golf coach through her senior season. Stephanie will be a senior on the golf team at Iowa in 2020-21. Leah has spent her summers playing, working at the golf course in Red Wing and teaching junior golfers.

An English major, Herzog was a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and an Academic All-Big Ten choice in 2021. She was a four-time selection to the Nebraska Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll, including a perfect 4.0 GPA in the spring of 2020. She earned a spot on the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team in 2021.
 

Herzog's Career Statistics

Year	Rounds	Strokes	Avg.	Low 18	Low 54
2019-20	17	1,303	76.65	66	225
2020-21	0	0	0.00	0	0
Totals	17	1,303	76.65	66	225