Women’s golf struggles to stay in contention out west

Despite strong play and a few good holes, the win ultimately comes down to the final stroke. After a seventh-place finish last week, junior co-captain Kate Coons said the IU women’s golf team needed to improve putting three solid rounds together.

“We need to be in a scoring mindset because we are playing a lot,” Coons said. “We are competitive against the rest of the field, we just need to score better.”

The Hoosiers were successful for the first 36 holes at the Mountain View Collegiate on March 23 and 24 in Tucson, Ariz. After posting a 576 two-round total, the squad sat in second place, just six strokes behind first-place Texas Tech.

“We played very well today,” IU Coach Clint Wallman said in a release after the first two rounds. “We did a good job of managing ourselves and (were) very patient, and those were two keys for us today. Each of the girls contributed to the success of the team. It was a very good team effort. I like where they are playing.”

Remaining close to the lead proved to be harder than it seemed for the squad, which added 12 strokes from the first to final round. The team fell down the leaderboard in the final round after carding a 297, totaling 873 for the tournament and placing fourth.

“I think that we’re still getting used to being at the top of the leaderboard,” Coons said. “I think that knowing you have a chance to win or have a really good finish well is something we’re getting used to, as well as the pressures of playing. We might have put on more than we needed to.”  

Texas Tech was victorious at Mountain View Golf Club, leading with an 858 tournament total. Iowa State took second place at seven strokes back of Texas Tech, with Ohio State rounding out the top three at 871.

Coons paved the way for the IU squad with consistency, carding three even-par 72s to take ninth place. The junior said the shorter course suited her well, allowing her to avoid using her driver throughout the rounds.

“My irons were really good,” Coons said. “I was hitting a lot of greens and made a few good shots.”

Senior co-captain Kristtini Cain and junior Rosie Davies joined Coons in the top-25, finishing 13th and 18th, respectively. Davies started the event strong, tallying 68 and 72, but struggled to stay low in the final round with a 79.

Final-round woes struck the rest of the squad, with freshman Elizabeth Tong posting a 75 for a 223 total and junior Pamela Burneski posting a 78 for a 229. The duo rounded out the lineup, placing 32nd and 55th.

Looking forward to the next event, the Hoosiers will return home for the IU Invitational on April 14 and 15.

“I think that we’ll have a lot of good momentum going into the tournament because we’ve had good showings so far this spring,” Coons said. “We’re pretty familiar with the course, so it will be an advantage.”