The Idaho women’s golf team has begun to see improvements after several obstacles during the early part of the season.
Tough weather conditions threatened the Vandals during the first months of the spring semester. Recently, a bout of flu knocked out several key players days before a pivotal tournament.
Nonetheless, the team has progressed and seen improvement, evident in theie performance in last weekend’s Hawaiian tournament.
Sophie Hausmann, who was recently named the Big Sky Golfer of the Week, has been an integral part of this resurgence. The freshman finished in a tie for 28th in the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational, earning a 9-over-par 225 in 54 holes of play over the weekend.
The performance comes a week after Hausmann and freshman Michelle Kim tied for sixth at the Fresno State Classic with identical scores of 146.
Sophomore Kendall Gray and Kim have excelled as of late. Both were locked in a tie for 40th place in individual competition in Hawaii with a final score of 230 strokes.
The duo’s efforts helped elevate Idaho to a tie for 9th place with Nebraska during the tournament.
The Vandals have two events left this season – the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic and the Big Sky Tournament.
After the conclusion of the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational, Idaho coach Lisa Johnson said she was proud of her team’s effort. Johnson said the team still needed to maintain their focus during the final stretch of the season.
“We are keeping our spirits high and moving towards our best golf of the spring,” Johnson said.
The Vandals will travel to Wyoming for the Cowgirl Classic Monday. The tournament will feature many Big Sky opponents, such as Portland State and Weber State.
Johnson said that the team would need to work on several aspects of the game in order to perform well next week. Putting was a particular issue back in February, when troubles in the short game dropped Idaho to 12th place in Long Beach, California.
“We still have several areas of our games to fine-tune heading into April and the conference championship season,” Johnson said.
Idaho will participate in the Big Sky Tournament after the Wyoming Cowgirl Classic. The Vandals currently lead all other Big Sky teams in the Golf Week poll at 102nd, followed closely by conference opponent Northern Arizona at 110th.
The Big Sky Tournament will be held April 18 at Boulder Creek Golf Course in Nevada.
Brandon Hill can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @brandonmtnhill Â