By Courtney Carlston
After finishing the first round in fifth place at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational this week, the BYU women”s golf team fell behind and was unable to recover in the final rounds on Wednesday, Oct. 8.
The team started to fall behind on the second day, as they battled through tough weather conditions. The girls finished round two in 10th place and maintained their position during the storm in round three.
“In golf, you either play well or you learn well,” said assistant coach Dave DeSantis. “We learned in the last two rounds.”
The girls struggled with their short game throughout the match and will spend the next couple of weeks working on their putting and chipping to prepare for San Diego on Oct. 20.
“We missed a lot of puts and making them keeps the momentum going,” DeSantis said. “Missing them is a big hurdle.”
As a result of the unexpected storm, the girls spent a significant amount of their playing time clearing branches and leaves from the greens. DeSantis said the girls played well considering the bad weather.
“You have to work with it,” said freshman Alexis Edwards. “I tried not to let it bother me and took my time.”
Despite the bad weather conditions and upsetting finish, the Cougars left the tournament excited to have competed at the classic West Coast Sahalee Country Club. The famous course is home to numerous professional tournaments and is one of the more challenging courses the Cougars have played.
“It”s one of the best in the world,” said junior Natalie Newren. “It was a delight just to play there.”
Natalie Newren finished the tournament tied for 21 place and was BYU”s most consistent performer in each round. Natalie”s younger sister, freshman Rachel Newren, led BYU in the first round, tied at seventh place and shot an even par as BYU”s top individual.
The Cougars played with some of college”s best teams including PAC-10 teams Stanford and tournament winner University of Arizona.
“We”re still a young team,” DeSantis said. “We feel like we are still on track to get to regionals and the qualify for nationals.”
