Davies leads IU to victory in fall opener

The IU women’s golf team had a goal Sunday — make up the two strokes that kept them behind first-round leader IU-Purdue University Indianapolis.

The Hoosiers accomplished that goal, winning the IU Fall Kickoff at the Indiana University Golf Course Sept. 10 and 11.

“When you’re behind after the first round, you learn a lot about yourself,” IU Coach Clint Wallman said. “They played very determined with having to post a number and actually doing it.”

With junior Rosie Davies’s even-par 72 leading the entire field Saturday, the IU women’s golf team totaled a 17-over-par 305 in the first round. Wallman said the team cleaned up errors in their short game to finish the second round at 297, recording a tournament total of 602 and winning the event by nine strokes.

Davies, of London, England, finished the event carding a tournament total of even-par 144, taking home her first win with the Hoosiers. After saving par on the first hole in the second round, she said it became a turning point to make birdies continuing the round.

“I just wanted to go in and play the same way I did Saturday, being really aggressive and sticking to the game plan of making lots of birdies,” Davies said. “We know the golf course, so we know how it plays.”

Senior co-captain Kristtini Cain followed her first-round 76 with a one-under-par 71 to finish three strokes behind Davies. Cain said the team was a little nervous the first day but is confident now that the first tournament is under their belt.

“We definitely came in wanting to win. We all worked hard on our games this summer and needed to dust off the rust from not playing as a team for awhile,” Cain said. “We knew that we could win if we played our own game and didn’t worry about anyone else.”

The Hoosiers are a smaller team this year with six players, which junior co-captain Kate Coons said was good for team chemistry. Coons tallied a 155 tournament total.
The IU women’s golf team will play in their first ranked event Sept. 17 18 at the Mary Fossum Invitational in East Lansing, Mich.

“We had some good momentum going this week, so we just need to play smart and stick to our game plan,” Coons said. “The more shots we hit before our first ranked event will help us get into a groove and the better we’ll be.”