The Iowa women’s golf team was unable to recover from a first day struggle at the Hoosier Fall Invitational and fell to eighth place Sunday. Wisconsin erased a 12-stroke deficit in the final round to win the event.
The tournament, which was hosted by the Belterra Resort in Florence, Ind., was the Hawkeyes’ fourth and final event of the fall season. Iowa is not scheduled to compete in another tournament until February, when it will participate in the Hurricane Invitational in Miami.
The Hawkeyes’ performance in Florence was highlighted by Shelby Phillips’ second-round effort on Oct. 13. The sophomore from Gilbert, Ariz., shot a 72 (even) in her second round of the 54-hole event. Phillips struggled during the final round of play Sunday, however, carding an 85 in her final round of the season.
All five Hawkeye golfers posted a score at or above 80 during their final round Sunday. As a team, they posted four birdies on Sunday. The round was the worst team score that the Black and Gold have posted all season.
Freshman Amy Ihm participated in her first event of her Hawkeye career this past weekend and posted a 244 (plus 28) three-round total. Ihm was competing as an individual, though, so her score did not count towards the Iowa team total.
For the first time in three tournaments, the Iowa women did not record a hole-in-one. However, Illinois State senior Katie Jean tallied an ace on the par-3 14th hole (130 yards) in round 2.
The tournament lineup featured 13 teams from twelve different schools — host Indiana entered two squads — and six Big Ten teams. Wisconsin, Indiana, Minnesota, and Indiana (B) placed first, second, third, and 12th.
— by Ryan Probasco