The Iowa women’s golf team is set to start its season today. The Hawkeyes will participate in the annual Chip-N-Club Invitational in Lincoln, Neb., at the Country Club of Lincoln.

As a team, the Hawkeyes placed third at last year’s Chip-N-Club, finishing only behind Southern Methodist and Redlands Community College.

In total, 13 teams will compete in the 54-hole event, including the host Cornhuskers. Iowa and Nebraska are the only Big Ten teams participating.

Iowa golfers expected to be near the top of the leaderboard include seniors Kristi Cardwell and Gigi DiGrazia, who will look to improve upon their successful 2011-12 campaigns. Cardwell posted the most par-or-better rounds for an Iowa golfer since 2007 last year. Over the summer, she won her first professional event at the Pepsi Indiana Open. At last year’s Chip-N-Club, DiGrazia posted the lowest score for Iowa, finishing 11th overall as an individual.

Second-year head coach Megan Menzel has set her lineup, which includes Cardwell and DiGrazia in addition to Shelby Phillips, Lauren English, and Briana Midkiff. Karly Grouwinkel will also compete in Lincoln this week as an individual.

Players will play 36 holes today and finish the tournament with a round of 18 on Tuesday. A shotgun start is scheduled for 9 a.m. today. On Tuesday, players will tee off at 8:30 a.m. 

Those who would like to follow the event as it happens can do so at GolfStat.com.

—by Ryan Probasco