NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Notre Dame women’s golf team opens its spring season Monday at Louisville’s Moon Golf Invitational.
The Fighting Irish return from their winter break to take part in the 16-team tournament, which will be held at the Duran Golf Club in Melbourne, Florida, on Feb. 18-19.
“We’re really looking forward to getting back on the road with this group,” head coach Susan Holt said. “I think the main goal for us as a team starting out the semester is to take care of the little things, like the ‘easy’ up and downs, the ‘easy’ three-foot putts. We need to pay attention to details and tidy things up. Doing so will save shots and keep us competing for a solid top-five finish. If we can do that it will be a positive start to the spring that we can then build on.”
Senior Emma Albrecht echoed her coach’s sentiments.
“We’re all really eager to tee it up again,” Albrecht said. “We had a great practice trip last weekend to knock all the rust off and I know we’re all raring to go.”
It will mark the first time the Irish have taken part in the University of Louisville’s Moon Golf Invitational.
“It will be a new course to figure out, but with that being said it’s a clean slate with no history, good or bad,” Holt said.
“This will be a first for us at this tournament, which just heightens the excitement,” Albrecht added. “This tournament is a great opportunity to get some solid wins under our belt to start the spring season.”
2019 Moon Golf Invitational (hosted by Louisville)
Dates: Feb. 18-19, 2019
Format/Tee Times: Monday (rounds 1-2) will start at 8 a.m. ET while Tuesday’s final round will begin at 9 a.m. ET (shotgun start on both days)
Location: Melbourne, Florida
Course (Par/Yardage): Duran Golf Club; Par 72, 6,309 yards
The Field (16): Louisville (host), Augusta, Campbell, FIU, Kansas, Kennesaw State, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Old Dominion, Seminole State, South Florida, Texas A&M, UCF.
Notre Dame Lineup: Emma Albrecht (1), Claire Albrecht (2), Isabella DiLisio (3), Abby Heck (4) and Mia Ayer (5).
Live Scoring: golfstat.com
Twitter: @NDwomensGolf
Career Best Rounds (most recent occurrence listed)
- Emma Albrecht: 67
(third round of the 2018 NCAA Madison Regional at the University Ridge Golf Course) - Isabella DiLisio: 67
(second round of the 2017 Schooner Fall Classic at the Belmar Golf Club) - Maddie Rose Hamilton: 65
(second round of the 2017 Schooner Fall Classic at the Belmar Golf Club) - Mia Ayer: 71
(third round of the 2018 Schooner Fall Classic at the Belmar Golf Club) - Abby Heck: 68
(second round of the 2018 Schooner Fall Classic at the Belmar Golf Club) - Claire Albrecht: 72
(third round of the 2018 Minnesota Invitational at the Prestwick Golf Club)
Making The Grade
- The women’s golf team posted Notre Dame’s top team GPA for the 2018 fall semester with an impressive 3.652 mark.
The 2018 Fall Schedule At A Glance
- During the fall, the Fighting Irish competed in the Minnesota Invitational (Sept. 10-11), the Schooner Fall Classic (Sept. 28-30), the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational (Oct. 5-7) and the Landfall Tradition (Oct. 5-7).
- At the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational, senior Emma Albrecht tied for fourth and the team finished fifth.
- At the Schooner Fall Classic, Notre Dame shot a final-round six-under par 278.
Notre Dame Under Coach Holt
- Head coach Susan Holt has led Notre Dame to 10 NCAA Regional appearances in the last 11 seasons, including the first NCAA Championship berth in program history (2011), while lowering the team’s season stroke average by more than 10 strokes since she arrived in 2006.
- Holt has piloted Notre Dame to four conference titles, 17 total tournament championships and the top 12 single-season stroke averages in the program’s record book, all while guiding Fighting Irish players to 15 medalist honors and 27 all-conference accolades as well as the first two All-America selections in Notre Dame women’s golf history.
- In the classroom, Fighting Irish players under Holt have collected 31 NGCA/WGCA All-Scholar Team citations, 44 conference all-academic team certificates and the first three Academic All-America honors in program history (Ashley Armstrong in 2013, 2014 and 2015).
Becca Huffer Makes Notre Dame History, Heads To LPGA Tour
- Becca Huffer (’12) became the first University of Notre Dame women’s golfer to become an LPGA Tour member when she earned her tour card last fall (Nov. 3).
- Huffer, a former Irish captain and two-time team MVP, earned her LPGA Tour Card after finishing in 10th place at the LPGA Q-Series at Pinehurst Course in Pinehurst, North Carolina.
- In its inaugural season, the Q-Series consisted of eight rounds over two, four-day tournaments with the top 45 finishers earning LPGA membership.
- Huffer carded a three-under-par (77-76-70-70-68-72-67-73=573), dipping under par 72 in four of eight rounds.
- Huffer then made her LPGA Tour debut at the ISPS Handa Vic Open in Victoria, Australia (Feb. 7).
- A four-time monogram winner, Huffer previously played on the Symetra Tour since 2013, where she recorded 10 career top-10 finishes, including three in 2018.
Future Irish
- Head coach Susan Holt has announced the 2019-20 incoming class of Lauren Beaudreau, Madelyn Jones and Jessica Meyers — a top-50 national recruiting class.
- Beaudreau, who hails from Lemont, Illinois, currently attends Benet Academy in Lisle, Illinois.
- Jones, who is an Austin, Texas, native, is in her senior year at Westlake High School.
- Meyers, who hails from Wexford, Pennsylvania, attends Oakland Catholic High School in Pittsburgh.
The 2017-18 Year In Review
- The Irish returned to NCAA Regional play (Madison) and set the program record for lowest season stroke average (293.50).
- Notre Dame posted top-five finishes at the Minnesota Invitational and the Clover Cup, while winning the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational for their first tournament win in two years.
- The Irish also had a strong showing at the Schooner Fall Classic, finishing tied for sixth on the strength of a final round 278 (-6).
- Emma Albrecht earned co-medalist honors at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational.
- Maddie Rose Hamilton set the program record by shooting a second-round 65 (-6) at the event. The -6 also tied for the lowest round in program history in relation to par.
— ND —