The Course
Each golf course plays a little differently. Some courses highlight the strengths of good putters, while others are all about the long game. No matter how many courses you play, your golf skills will always be put to the test. Those skills were certainly put to the test for the Utah Valley University women’s golf team this week.
The tournament the team played this week took place at Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. The course houses a hole that every golfer dreams of tackling. Hole 14 is a floating par-3, 137-yard hole, where the green is completely surrounded by water.
The Wolverines conquered this hole through the first two rounds, with only two bogeys to go along with two impressive birdies among the five golfers. Those birdies came from senior Kaylee Shimizu in round one and sophomore Nathalie Irlbacher in round two. Round three proved to be more difficult for hole 14, with three pars, two bogeys and the absence of any birdies.
The Rounds
The first day of play didn’t go quite as UVU had planned. The Wolverines danced around positions 11 and 12 most of the day, before falling to 15th place through 36 holes of golf. Shimizu led the pack, carding 1-over-par 72 and 4-over-par 75 which put her tied for 21st place. She tallied three birdies in each round, including the birdie on the intimidating floating hole. The rest of the team together was only able to accomplish nine birdies.
Day two consisted of several holes resulting in a double-bogey or worse for the Wolverines. Only five birdies were raked in through the final 18 holes. The lowest score for the round came again from Shimizu, who carded 5-over-par 76. She finished the tournament tied for 25th place. Freshman Victoria Estrada participated in the tournament as an individual. In her final round, she carded 1-under-par 70, the only Wolverine to card a round under par this week.
The Results
The Wolverines finished the 54-hole tournament in dead last at 16th place, carding an overall team score of 923. The host school, Gonzaga University, won the tournament carding 868, a 55-stoke difference from UVU. Fellow Utah County golfers from Brigham Young University took second place with a score of 872. Allysha Mae Mateo, a sophomore from BYU, claimed best score carding 1-under par 70, 3-over-par 74 and 3-under-par 68, respectively.
UVU will work to polish up their game in preparation for the New Mexico State Aggie Invitational Oct. 7-9. The three day, 54-hole tournament will take place at NMSU Golf Course in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
