WOODBURY, Minnesota — Playing in rainy conditions and contending with multiple lightning delays, the Fighting Irish women’s golf team opened the 2019-20 season by shooting a 296 in the first round of the Minnesota Invitational on Monday.
Competing at the Prestwick Golf Club (par-72/ 6,297 yards), the 15-team field was slated to play 36 holes on Monday, but the weather delays forced a halt early in the second round. The event will now wrap-up Tuesday when the teams each finish their respective second rounds. Notre Dame’s five starters played between three to seven holes in their second rounds.
In the opening round, freshmen Madelyn Jones (73) and Lauren Beaudreau (73) paced the Irish with one-over par rounds – their first rounds in an Irish uniform. Jones had three birdies to go along with 11 pars and four bogeys in the first round. She then played her first three holes of the second round at a one-under par clip to stand in a tie for 11th. Beaudreau had two birdies, 13 pars and three bogeys in her first round.
Junior Abby Heck (74) and sophomore Claire Albrecht (76) also scored in the opening round for the Irish. Senior Mia Ayer shot an opening round 78, while freshman Jessica Meyers carded a 79 playing as an individual.
On a very tightly bunched team leaderboard, The Fighting Irish (+11) are tied for 10th with UTSA (+11) and sit two strokes behind Miami (+9). Kentucky (+2) and Virginia Tech (+2) are tied for first.
| T10 | Notre Dame | 296 | +3 | +11 |
| T11 | Madelyn Jones (3) | 73 | -1 (3) | E |
| T26 | Lauren Beaudreau (1) | 73 | +2 (4) | +3 |
| T36 | Abby Heck (2) | 74 | +2 (7) | +4 |
| T36 | Claire Albrecht (4) | 76 | E (6) | +4 |
| 78 | Mia Ayer (5) | 78 | +6 (5) | +12 |
The 2019 Minnesota Invitational — Final Round
Dates: September 10, 2019
Tee Times: Tuesday’s second round will pick back up 11:00 a.m. ET.
Location: Woodbury, Minnesota
Course (Par/Yardage): Prestwick Golf Club (par-72/ 6,297 yards)
Tournament Field (15): Minnesota (host), Miami, Georgia, Louisville, East Carolina, Virginia Tech, UTSA, San Jose State, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Kansas, Missouri, San Francisco, Long Beach State, Notre Dame.
Notre Dame Lineup: Lauren Beaudreau (1), Abby Heck (2), Madelyn Jones (3), Claire Albrecht (4), Mia Ayer (5). In addition, Jessica Meyers is competing as an individual.
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
Twitter: @NDwomensGolf
Notre Dame at the Minnesota Invitational
- It marks the third consecutive season the Irish are opening the year at the Minnesota Invitational.
- Last season, Notre Dame placed seventh (292-295-295=882) in a 15-team field.
- Then freshman Claire Albrecht paced the Irish, posting her best finish of the season in her first career event as she tied for 14th (75-72-72=219).
- At the 2017 Minnesota Invitational, then junior Isabella DiLisio’s final round 67 propelled the Irish to a tie for third (284-289-281=854) in the 14-team field. The 854 (-10) set the program record for a a par-72/54-hole tournament (in relation to par), while the final round 281 remains tied for the seventh-lowest round in the Irish records book.
- Current junior Abby Heck played in the last two Minnesota Invitationals, including an opening round 73 in 2018.
- Heck’s stroke average in six previous rounds at Prestwick was a 74.0 — a mark she matched in Monday’s opening round.
Career Best Rounds (most recent occurence listed)
- Claire Albrecht: 72 (third round of the 2018 Minnesota Invitational)
- Mia Ayer: 71 (third round of the 2018 Schooner Fall Classic)
- Abby Heck: 68 (first round of the 2019 Moon Golf Invitational)
— ND —