IU places 7th in Insperity Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate

Traveling to the city of the Masters for the PGA Tour, the IU women’s golf team ventured to Augusta, Ga., for the Insperity Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate.

The squad placed seventh in the 54-hole stroke play event at Forest Hills Golf Club.

University of Texas-San Antonio finished atop the leaderboard with an 880 tournament total, while the Hoosiers tallied a 916 for the event. South Alabama topped IU by three strokes to take sixth place.

In the first two rounds, the Hoosiers maintained consistent scores of 303-303, but added more strokes to their total in the final round at 310.

Junior Rosie Davies led the team with her consistent play, tallying three consecutive scores of 74 to total 222 and tie for 10th among the entire field.

Davies said the greens were the most demanding aspect of the Forest Hills Golf Club, the par-72 course that played at 6,248 yards.

“Hitting the ball in the right place on the green for a flat spot was most challenging,” Davies said. “There was also some rain in the final round, making it more difficult to read the speed.”

Despite the difficult greens, Davies was able to make five birdies in the first round, two in the second and three in the final round.

Freshman Elizabeth Tong finished seven strokes back of Davies to tie for 25th, junior co-captain Kate Coons tied for 30th, senior co-captain Kristtini Cain took 47th place and junior Pamela Burneski finished in 75th.

Sophomore Sophie Hayashi and freshman Kamryn Klawitter competed as individuals for the tournament. Hayashi posted a tournament total of 239 to tie for 58th, and Klawitter carded a 251 to finish in 72nd.

Klawitter recorded her personal best for her college career in the second round with a three-over-par 75.

Coons, who posted a 77-76-77 for the event, said the team played with a scoring mindset but should have scored better.

On a personal level, Coons said she needed to put herself into a better position with her drives.

“I think all of us had a few rough holes out there,” Coons said. “All around, I played pretty well, but if I can get myself into position, I should be good.”

IU Coach Clint Wallman said it was a tough week full of good tournament play and opportunities to score.

“It was all about fairways and greens, and the greens were very slick,” Wallman said.

Both Coons and Davies noted that they look forward to returning to competition in Indiana, as they will play both the Indiana Invitational and the Big Ten Championship in the Hoosier state.

“I’m really looking forward to the postseason,” Coons said. “We have to play really strong, but if we can do that, we could be among at least the top five or top three teams.”

As for this week, Coons said that overall, the team needed to score better and will work on it moving forward.

“We wanted to go out there and play well,” Coons said. “We had been playing a lot of golf this week and hitting the ball well. We were one of the best teams out there and could have scored better.”