IU women’s golf’s season came to a close this weekend at the Big Ten Championship in Maineville, Ohio, at TPC River’s Bend. The Hoosiers finished in 13th place of the 13 competing teams while Michigan State would go on to win their ninth Big Ten title and first since 2018.
The tournament included six teams ranked in the top 50 of the Golfstat team rankings. The Hoosiers struggled on day one as a team, but ended their season with a team season-low score of 297 in round three.
The Hoosiers’ weekend was highlighted by sophomore Valerie Clancy for the second consecutive week as she finished her season with a personal record and tie for 20th. Clancy was the only IU player to shoot all three rounds in the 70s and shot her season low in round two with a 2-under-par 70.
Experience was certainly a factor for the Hoosiers, who had only two players that had played in a Big Ten Championship in their careers. Those seniors, Angela Aung and Mary Parsons, would both go on to shoot 21-over for the tournament.
“Everyone else, this was their first go around at it and being on the big stage,” head coach Clint Wallman said after the competition. “Nerves got the better of them, but I am really proud of our finish and how they got better every day.”
Wallman said there were positive takeaways for the Hoosiers regardless of the scoreboard. Both sophomores finished strongly, with Hanna Tanaka finishing out her rounds with a 77 and 73 after shooting an 85 in round one.
“Not the finish that we wanted numerically,” Wallman said. “But on the individual front we did see some good things from some people.”
As the Hoosiers head into the offseason, Wallman said he sees brighter days ahead. IU will have a full returning cast with the exception of Angela Aung.
“For all these kids, they lost spring of ‘20, summer of ‘20, fall of '20, so they didn’t play competitive golf for a year, but after six tournaments, we’re starting to see some good stuff,” Wallman said.
With the return of collegiate golf in the fall, the preparation for the season started Sunday night after the team walked off the green.
“We’ve got some really good players coming in,” Wallman said. “I don’t think you’re gonna have to turn the phone upside down to see us at the top of the leaderboard anymore.”
