June 13, 2014
CARMEL, Ind. — Kari Bellville, an incoming freshman for the University of Notre Dame women’s golf team, won the Indiana State Junior Golf Championship at the Twin Lakes Country Club in Carmel, Ind., this past week. Her 1-under-par final round of 71 on Wednesday put her definitively in the lead, as Bellville finished seven strokes ahead of the second-place finisher.
Bellville will come to Notre Dame as a local product; she lives in Granger, Ind., and was a golf standout at Penn High School. Her victory this week will certainly not be the end of her tournament play this summer — in fact, she will compete in the Four Winds Invitational at South Bend’s Blackthorn Golf Club (June 20-22) — but the incoming freshman says the title leaves her eager to begin her career at Notre Dame in the fall.
“This first summer tournament victory really helps boost my confidence as I continue to look forward to transitioning into collegiate play,” Bellville says. “I really went out and practiced a lot for this first tournament, which included spending time mentally preparing myself in order to succeed.”
Bellville shot for a total of 219 at the State Championship, carding 74 in each of the first two rounds before firing that 71 on day three.
“In my third round, I felt like I was striking the ball the best out of all three days,” she says. “I was able to attack pins which gave me a few more birdie opportunities.”
Despite that strong finish in the third round, Bellville says her favorite moment of the tournament occurred on the first day: “I holed out from 43 yards, making an eagle on hole six, a par five.”
In the fall, Bellville will join five returning Irish golfers. The team will look to improve upon their start in the Atlantic Coast Conference this year, which included a tie for fifth at the ACC Championships.
–Lauren Chval, Media Relations Assistant
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