UVU Finishes 7th to End Fall Tournaments

UVU Women’s Golf team posted a solid tournament in the Little Rock Women’s Golf Classic, placing 7th out of 16 teams. The 54-hole tournament took place on October 28-30 in Hot Springs Village, Ark. After placing 8th in the previous tournament, the small jump to a 7th place finish is good momentum for the team as they end their fall season.

At the end of day one, UVU was sitting in 7th place after a strong round from junior Kaylee Shimizu. Shimizu shot 2-over par 72 round and was in 13th place on the individual leaderboard. She carded 3 birdies and 10 pars to round out her team leading round through day one. Seniors Carly Dehlin Hirsch and Ana Raga both shot 5-over par 77 in the first round, as well as sophomore Keila Bladed who record a 77 as well. These scores had the three golfers tied for 32nd on the individual leaderboard.

Day two bumped the Wolverines down to the number 8 spot despite another solid performance from Shimizu. Shooting a 1-under par 71, Shimizu jumped up 8 spots on the individual leaderboard putting her in 5th place. After six birdies in the second round she had nine total birdies throughout the first two days of the tournament. Senior Carly Dehlin Hirsch sits in 57th place with a two round score of 14-over par. Missouri State and Western Kentucky were both tied for first heading into the final round of the tournament.

Freshman Natalie Irlbacher led the way for the Wolverines in day three of the tournament. Carding a 2-under 70 in the final round, Irlbacher’s strong performance helped the team jump back up the 7th place spot where they would finish the tournament. The 7-over par team score for the Wolverines was their best round of the tournament and it came at the right time. Shimizu finished her tournament with a 5-over par score in the last round, good enough for 10th place. This was Shimizu’s best 54-hole score of her career and the first top ten finish of her career as well.

This tournament rounds out what was a good fall season for UVU’s golf team. In the four tournaments they competed in, they were able to finish top ten in all of those along with two top five finishes. The Wolverines will now have the winter months off and will continue play on February 11-12 in Riverside, Calif.