Playing with some of the top teams in college golf can seem intimidating, but it didn’t phase the Vandals as they finished 16th at the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown Tuesday in Boulder City, Nevada, with a 5-under-par 859.
“We played pretty consistently,” Idaho coach Lisa Johnson said. “The big difference was shooting under par.”
Idaho freshman Sophie Hausmann tied for 45th with a 2-under-par 214.
Hausmann won Big Sky Golfer of the Week for her performance.
“Our ball striking was excellent and we managed the golf course really well,” Johnson said. “We drove the ball the best we have all fall.”
After playing a few rounds on the course that will host the Big Sky Conference Championship April 18-21, Johnson said the Idaho players are confident.
“They know they can score well and shoot under par,” Johnson said. “It’s a very fun golf course to play and it was great to play this week and finish the fall season with low scores.”
Johnson said she is happy with how the team performed this fall. She said the team played extremely well and improved every week.
“We have great team chemistry and we had a lot of fun on the road,” Johnson said. “Everyone is extremely coachable and focused on improving specific parts of their individual game.”
Johnson said the Idaho players need to post more birdies in the future.
“Leading up to the conference championship we need to work on making birdies,” Johnson said. “We need to get closer to the flags and give ourselves more birdie opportunities.”
During the fall season, the Vandals had two second-place finishes and one third-place finish.
“We played extremely well on this golf course and that gives us a ton of confidence,” Johnson said.
Idaho will play at the Texas State Delta Gamma Challenge Feb. 14-15 in New Braunfels, Texas.
Mihaela Karst can be reached at [email protected]