The Iowa women’s golf team got off to the start the Hawkeyes said they were looking for on Monday at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational in Austin, Texas.

The team shot a combined 9-over 297, the best single-round score this season for the Hawkeyes. That tally left them in a tie for seventh place at the 15-team tournament.

Head coach Megan Menzel said her team’s performance around the greens was a big reason for its strong performance.

"We’ve been working hard to clean our short game a little bit, and I think that happened at times today," she said.

The Black and Gold was led by Shelby Phillips, who fired an even-par score of 72 — her best score of the season — to finish in a tie for 12th place. The freshman is four strokes behind field leader Evan Jensen of Florida.

"That’s what she’s capable of doing every time she goes out to play," Menzel said. "It all came together for her today; she looked very relaxed and handled her round really well."

The rest of the team wasn’t far behind. Junior Kristi Cardwell shot a 2-over 74, good for a tie for 26th place. Freshman Lauren English carded a 3-over 75, leaving her in a tie for 38th. Senior Chelsea Harris finished with a 4-over 76, and finished the day in a tie for 43rd place. Junior Gigi DiGrazia ended the day in a tie for 77th place after turning in an 11-over score of 83.

Menzel said the Hawkeyes kept a level head after the first round, and she believes that was a good step forward for a team that expects to play well every time out.

The Hawkeyes will tee off the second round at 8:15 a.m. today at the University of Texas Golf Club. Live scoring will be available at GolfStat.com.

— by Tork Mason