Senior Ana Sanjuan shot two strokes under par 70 Tuesday to lead IU women’s golf to a seventh-place finish at the Ptarmigan Ram Classic in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Hoosiers finished the three-round tournament 35 strokes over par with a team score of 899 and 28 strokes behind tournament winner San Jose State.
Sanjuan shot a 217 to finish the tournament one over, tied for seventh in the individual standings and junior Alix Kong shot four over and finished tied for 11th with a total score of 220 to lead the Hoosiers.
IU Coach Clint Wallman said he didn’t think the score reflected the quality of the team’s play at the tournament.
“We didn’t necessarily convert as many opportunities as we had given ourselves,” Wallman said. “We have to do a better job of just getting the ball in the hole when we give ourselves those opportunities.”
The Hoosiers shot a 296 in the first round and finished the first 18 holes in third place. After a 304 in the second round left IU in seventh place at the end of the first day of play, the team posted a 299 to close out the tournament.
While Sanjuan started the year off strong, she said she thought the team could have finished higher in the tournament.
“I think it was an average performance,” Sanjuan said. “We have the talent to do better, like way better. I’m not very happy with the performance of the team. I think we can perform better.”
Sanjuan’s score of 217 was her third best three-round score as a Hoosier, thanks to her two birdies in the third round. She said the key to her final round was she didn’t make mistakes.
“I think that was the difference,” Sanjuan said. “I didn’t make any bogeys, I played really well off the tee. It was just one of those days where I didn’t make any mistakes and I just played well.”
Wallman said Sanjuan’s good tournament was a sign of her improvement as a golfer and her ability to manage herself on the golf course is one of her best qualities.
Freshman Elisa Pierre, one of six freshmen to be named preseason Big Ten women’s golf honorees, and sophomore Erin Harper finished the tournament with a 233. Wallman said he expects Pierre to post better results as she gains more experience.
IU’s next tournament will take place Sept. 24-25 when Michigan State is the host of the Mary Fossum Invitational in East Lansing, Michigan.
Sanjuan said the team needs to focus on getting better as the season progresses.
“All of us know what we have to do to improve,” she said. “In order for us to go into Michigan State and play well, we have to go with a good mindset and we will be fine because we have the talent.”
