Golf can be a very lonely sport.
Out on the course, it’s the player, a little white ball, and 14 clubs.
U.s. intercollegiate
what: Men’s golf
when: All day, Saturday 19, Sunday 20
where: Palo Alto, Calif.
It makes sense, then, that Director of Golf Brad James focuses on individual results to measure success. After all, good individual results from each member of a team have the opportunity to translate into good team results.
But coming into the weekend, individual achievement had been completely lacking for the Minnesota men’s golf team.
Indiana invitational
what: Women’s golf
when: All Day, Monday, Tuesday
where: Carmel, Ind.
Senior Clayton Rask, however, managed to change that.
His 4-under par effort in the rain-shortened Augusta State Invitational secured a tie for sixth and led the Gophers to a 14th place finish in the 18-team event, which ended after only 36 holes as Saturday’s play was halted mid-morning because of inclement weather. Minnesota finished with a 14-over 590, 38 strokes back of tournament champion UCLA.
UCLA also boasted the individual champion, as Lucas Lee fired a 10-under 134 to outpace the field.
Rask’s two-day total of 140 included 13 birdies, but a trio of double bogeys derailed what could have been an even higher finish.
“Making 13 birdies in two rounds and only shooting four under is kind of disappointing,” Rask said.
Still, his finish was the first top-20 for a Minnesota player this spring, and it comes at a perfect time – just a few weeks before the Big Ten Championships and the start of NCAA Regional play.
Unfortunately, Rask’s teammates are continuing to struggle. The Gophers’ second-best finisher, sophomore Thomas Campbell, tied for 47th with a 3-over 147 in his spring debut.
Despite the relatively low finish, James said he was very happy with how Campbell performed.
“Thomas played well the whole weekend, really. He had one bad nine (Friday), but I think what he really just did was earn a spot to Stanford (next weekend).”
Women off to Indiana
After roaming the western United States for the last month, the Minnesota women’s golf team is finally staying in the Midwest for a tournament.
The Gophers will run up against nearly all of their Big Ten foes when they begin play today at the Indiana Invitational, hosted by the University of Indiana at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind. The 54-hole tournament will be played in two days, with 36 holes scheduled to be played today and the final 18 tomorrow.
With the Big Ten Championships less than three weeks away, the invite should help Minnesota learn just how it stacks up to conference opponents, as only Michigan State and Wisconsin will be absent from the tournament.
The 15-team field boasts five teams ranked in the most recent Golfweek Top 50, including No. 6 Purdue and No. 27 Texas. In addition, four individuals in the Top 50 will be competing.
The Gophers’ lineup in Indiana is unique to the spring season, with a combination of three freshmen and two juniors comprising the five-player squad.
Freshmen Teresa Puga and Mary Narzisi have started every event for the Gophers this spring and will lead the lineup once again. Junior Young Na Lee is making her fourth appearance in spring play, while freshman Michelle Edlin and junior Paige Bromen take to the course for the second time since fall.
