Women’s golf traveled to Corvallis, Ore., this week and came away with a sixth place finish resulting from consistent play.
The Vandals competed at the Trysting Tree Golf Club in the 2012 Oregon State Invitational that ran Sept. 17-18. After finishing in a tie for ninth place last week in Colorado, the Vandals’ scores improved on a course that was statistically similar.
“From ability to score perspective, they are fairly similar. Twisting Tree provided very good opportunities to birdie the par 5’s,” Idaho women’s golf coach Lisa Johnson said.
After shooting 49 over par in Fort Collins, the Vandals improved 11 strokes to 38 over par in Oregon. “We were much more confident on the golf course as a team this week,” Johnson said.
The Vandals’ sixth place finish left them in the mix of the tournament as they were only four strokes back from the University of San Francisco’s sole possession of fifth place.
From an individual standpoint, the Vandals showed much consistency, as there was no great discrepancy between the one spot and the five spot.
The two spot for the Vandals was sophomore Kaitlyn Oster, who at 7 over par finished in a tie for 17th place. Number one and sophomore Leilanie Kim at nine over par finished in a tie for 21st. Rounding it out for the Vandals was junior Rachel Choi at 12 over par in a tie for 29th, freshman Kristin Strankman at 15 over par in a tie for 41st and freshman Cassie McKinley at 16 over par in a tie for 48th.
The winning team, Washington, shot a combined 11 under par and there were two teams who shot in the 100’s, but this closeness of scores for the Vandals points Johnson toward an element that has been missing from her team for a long time.
“We have much more depth and three more players who could be on the lineup. That’s a new opportunity for us,” Johnson said. “That competitiveness will only help us improve.”
According to Johnson, not only will everyone on this team be looking for playing time, but they also have the drive to be the best player on the team.
One of the best players on the team so far in this early season is Oster, who after being the second best place finisher for the Vandals last week, was their top performer this week.
“She is a phenomenal competitor,” Johnson said. “One of the most competitive players I have ever coached.”
After spending the first two weeks of the season on the road the Vandals will keep their traveling gear at home as they participate in the WSU Inland Cup on Sept. 24-25 in Pullman.
Jacob Dyer can be reached at [email protected]