The Idaho women’s golf team played another commendable tournament March 14 and March 15 in Kailua, Hawaii, at Kaneohe Klipper golf course for the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational, placing fourth out of 15 teams.
Sophomore Michelle Kim led the way for the Vandals, shooting an overall 3-over-par 219 to place 19th. Kim began the third round at 5-over-par before stringing together three birdies on the back nine of day three to finish the round with a 2-under 70.
All seven Idaho golfers played consistently. Out of the five-seeds for team play, par was met or bested six times.
Senior Amy Hasenoehrl tied a team low with par on the first day, stringing together three straight birdies on the back nine. After round two, Hasenoehrl sat in a tie for third, only three strokes behind the leader. She bested her previous team-low, carding a 3-under 69 on day two, partly due to her first career hole-in-one on the 180-yard par-3 11th.
Sophomore Sophie Hausmann impressed in round two also, shooting an even 72. Hausmann had a back and forth front nine, recording two birdies that were almost instantly negated by bogies. Hausmann would finish the tournament with a 5-over 221, tied for 23rd.
Freshman Clara Moyano was under par halfway through the first round, but four late bogies would push her to 1-over. After a 5-over second round, Moyano got back on track on day three, carding par to finish with a 6-over-par 222, tied for 26th.
The 16th-ranked Aggies from Texas A&M dominated the tournament, as each golfer was able to stay under 80. The Aggies finished with two players, Maddie Szeryk and Courtney Dow, in the top 10 overall. Szeryk earned medalist honors for the tournament, shooting under-par all three rounds — 67, 71 and 69 — to finish with a 9-under-par 207.
Despite being an unranked team, Idaho finished three strokes ahead of No. 21 Texas and only three strokes behind No. 19 Oklahoma State. The Vandals will likely earn a top-25 ranking in the weeks to come if they continue to play at this level.
The Vandals will strap on the spikes and look to record another respectable performance on March 20 to March 22 at the San Diego State University Farms Invitational.
Colton Clark can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @coltonclark95