Sept. 28, 2012
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s golf team resumes action on Monday, Oct. 1 as it heads to Glen View Golf Club in Golf, Ill. for the fifth annual Windy City Collegiate Classic hosted by Northwestern University in the two-day 54-hole tournament.
TEE TIMES: The field will fire off holes one and ten both days with a staggered start time ranging from 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. (ET). The second 18-hole round on Monday will begin promptly at 12:45 a.m. (ET).
“Throughout our schedule in the fall, each tournament will progressively become more challenging as we advance,” head coach Susan Holt says. “This tournament (Windy City Collegiate Classic) is a step up from Michigan State as far as the depth of the field. I remind my players often that they should never have a false sense of security in where they stand with the teams we will face this season.”
LINEUP: Junior Kristina Nhim (Cypress, Calif.), sophomore Ashley Armstrong (Flossmoor, III.), sophomore Kelli Oride (Lihue, Hawaii), freshman Lindsey Weaver (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and freshman Talia Campbell (Dallas, Texas).
FORMAT: Players will be divided into threesomes for each hole in a stroke play style format. Five players will compete for each team, and the team’s lowest individual score will be dropped at the end of each round.
TOURNAMENT UPDATES: Live scoring for the tournament will be available at www.golfstat.com. Round-by-round recaps will be available at UND.com. For on the go updates sign up for my.textcaster.com and get round-by-round scores sent straight to your phone.
TEAMS (15): Northwestern (host), Arizona, Colorado, Iowa State, Kent State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas Tech, UC-Davis, UCF, UNC-Wilmington, Washington, Wisconsin.
LAST TIME OUT: The Irish swung their way to a third place finish at the Mary Fossum Invitational (Sept. 15-16) in a field of 16 schools. Notre Dame closed in just five points shy of the second place host Michigan State University. Sophomore Kelly Oride shattered her best round of 54 by ten strokes with a six-over par 222. Oride (70), freshman Lindsey Weaver (70) and freshman Talia Campbell (71) each fired a round under par. Sophomore Ashley Armstrong broke even with a 72. Oride led the team with 11 birdies in the tournament followed by Weaver and Campbell each gathering in eight.
“The ranking that stand now are based off of one or two tournaments and based primarily on stroke average,” says Holt. “We averaged just over a 295 at a very tough golf course (Michigan State) and I was very pleased overall with how we able to shoot the scores we did.”
IRISH IN THE WINDY CITY: Notre Dame will make its second appearance at the Windy City Collegiate Classic. The last time the Irish played in the event was October 2009. The Irish tied for fourth with host Northwestern in a field of 15 with a 26-over par 890 score. Becca Huffer was the top individualist for Notre Dame placing fifth with an even par 216 score (74-70-72). The Irish additional finish fifth in the Northwestern Invitational during the 1996-97 campaign. Katie King was the top performer for the Irish with a 237 tying for seventh place.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION: The Irish will battle four top-25 ranked teams including No. 1 Texas Tech, No. 2 Washington, No. 6 Arizona and No.19 UC Davis (Golfstat Relative Ranking). Texas Tech, Washington, and Arizona each have one fall tournament win thus far. Texas Tech (71.65) Washington (71.05) each have shot under a 72 for their adjusted scoring average. Last year Oklahoma State University won the Windy City with an 18-over par 822. Arizona finished second (19-over par 833) and Ohio State third (20-over par 884). Arizona (No. 5), Oklahoma State (No.17), Ohio State (No. 26), Texas Tech (No. 27) and Northwestern (No.30) all made Golfweek’s preseason top-30 rankings.
“This tournament always produces one of the better fields in the country, says Holt.” “I took a quick glance at the rankings that came out today (Sept. 26) and we were ranked 26th. There are several teams ahead of us and a few right on our heels. It will be a great opportunity to help our current ranking. I am excited to see how we do.”
THE COURSE: Glen View Club’s private par-72 course was established in 1897 and designed by the first head professional, Richard Leslie. The 6,333-yard course has played host to five Western Golf championships, including the first Western Open in 1899. Golfnow.com gives it a course rating of 72.1 and a slope rating of 135.
“This golf course (Glen View) is equally challenging to Michigan State’s golf course as far as the need to hit quality golf shots,” says Holt. “I think courses like Glen View tend to be a separator. I am positive the wind at this tournament will be a factor. You can bet all three rounds for the course to play different. I think we will make the adjustment and our players know how to do that. We have a great group of kids with a lot of tournament experience.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Following the Windy City Collegiate Classic, the Irish will head to Norman, Okla. on Oct. 15-17 for the three-day Susie Maxwell Berning Classic.