After traveling to Arizona and Mexico to kick off its spring tournaments, the IU women’s golf team will play its first and only home tournament of the season this weekend.
The Hoosiers will play a tournament on the IU Golf Course for the first time since the 2012-13 season when play begins Saturday at the IU Spring Invitational. IU won the last tournament it played at home.
The three-round tournament will we be played during two days, on Saturday and Sunday, and the nine-team field includes IUPUI and Ball State.
IU has had tournaments in the state of Indiana in recent years, but IU Coach Clint Wallman said he wanted his seniors to have a chance to play competitively on their home course.
“I don’t think this group of seniors has ever had a home tournament because we have always been traveling,” Wallman said. “This group of seniors is a very special group, they’ve worked very hard, and I think it’s just a nice sendoff for them to be able to play a home tournament as a senior.”
Sophomore Erin Harper has been playing at the top of her game recently after finishing tied for 20th earlier in the week at the Hawkeye El Tigre Invitational in Mexico. Harper said she feels good about her game entering the tournament and said IU has an edge playing on its home course.
“This course is definitely kind of funky where having played it a bunch of times is definitely going to be an advantage on its own,” Harper said. “I think just knowing where to place the ball on the green is going to be an advantage for us this tournament.”
Freshman Emma Fisher also had a strong performance earlier in the week when she finished tied for 35th in the individual standings. Fisher, an alumna of Bloomington High School South, said she feels confident in her game after her strong play earlier in the week.
“I feel pretty confident basically just because I didn’t really hit it that well in Mexico but I just had a really nice composure on the course,” Fisher said. “So I feel pretty good going into this weekend just because I know my course management is going to be better than it has in the past.”
Senior Ana Sanjuan has struggled in her last two tournaments compared to her strong start of the season. Wallman said she has worked hard to improve and also said she thinks she will have everything turned around when play begins this weekend.
Wallman said the tournament comes at a good time for the Hoosiers to improve before the end of the season.
“I think it’s a chance for Erin and the others that are playing well to put a little notch in their belt and give those that haven’t had the spring they wanted a chance to shift some momentum,” Wallman said.
The first two rounds of the tournament will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, and the final round will start at 9 a.m. Sunday.
Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that IU women's golf had not played a home tournament since 2012. The Hoosiers played a home tournament in April of 2013, during the 2012-13 season.
