Indiana women’s golf wrapped up its season-opening tournament Tuesday afternoon at the Boilermaker Classic in West Lafayette. The Hoosiers scored an 884, 20-over par over three rounds to finish in seventh place in the 15-team field. Indiana’s seventh-place finish is the program’s best in a season-opening tournament since 2019-20.
“Our team performance was just OK,” head coach Brian May said Wednesday afternoon. “There were a lot of positives in spurts, but there were a lot of things to build on, including coming out of the gate sharper.”
Debuting a team full of newcomers, Indiana got off to a slow start in Monday’s first round, shooting a 298, 10-over par, leaving itself tied for 12th. Wake Forest University transfer redshirt junior Caroline Smith led the Hoosiers’ first round efforts, firing an even-par 72 consisting of two birdies.
An improved second round of 294, 6-over par boosted the Hoosiers into eighth place. It was a balanced round from the Indiana lineup, as all five players scored either a 73, 1-over par or 74, 2-over par. May noted his pleasure with the team’s ability to bounce back in Monday’s second round.
“They showed the will to move forward after not finishing the first round very well,” May said. “There was a lot of perseverance and gritty play to stick it out for the team. They all play for each other.”
Indiana finished the 54-hole tournament with a final round of 292, 4-over par to jump Western Kentucky University in the standings. Two Hoosiers scored under-par in the final round, as sophomore twins Faith and Chloe Johnson scored rounds of 71, 1-under par and 68, 4-under par.
“They each had moments where they could have lost shots, but they didn’t,” May said of the twins. “They bounced back from the bad holes.”
Fittingly, the Johnson twins finished as the top Hoosiers on the leaderboard, tying for 12th with scores of 217, 1-over par. Five strokes behind was Smith, whose 222, 6-over par earned her a t-30 finish.
Senior Caroline Craig finished tied for 51st after shooting 228, 12-over par. Freshman Nicole Kolbas rounded out the lineup with a 231, 15-over par to place t-66 in her collegiate debut. Competing as an individual, redshirt sophomore Maddie May shot a 233, 17-over par to finish t-70.
May stated he was impressed with the team’s mentality throughout the tournament but wants to see some more aggressive play.
“Their mindsets going into the week and attitude throughout it was outstanding, which every coach wants to see,” May said. “But there are some things that need to be tightened up on the course. There were too many big numbers in the first round, and they need to be more aggressive to get some birdies.”
Indiana finished four strokes behind sixth-place Georgia Southern University and five strokes behind fifth-place University of Notre Dame. There were three other Big Ten foes in the tournament, highlighted by host and event-winner Purdue, who beat Indiana by 32 strokes. Minnesota finished in third place and ahead of the Hoosiers by 20 strokes while Rutgers placed 10th and 10 strokes behind Indiana.
Indiana will next play in the Wisconsin Badger Invitational on Sept. 17-19 in Madison. May said the team’s lineup will be determined through a competition of qualifying rounds played throughout the week.
“Golf is a beautiful sport because anyone has the chance to go out and put up good numbers,” May said.
