By: Jordan Zuniga
The Iowa women’s golf team has four seniors on the squad. With that makeup, one might expect a senior to always be pacing the team.
That has not been the case in the last two tournaments. Instead, freshman Rachel Fujitani has led the way for the Hawkeyes.
Fujitani notched a career-best finish at the Arizona State Invitational on March 25, shooting a three-round score of 221 (5-over), good enough for a top-30 finish.
She then followed up that performance with a top-15 finish at the Bruzzy Challenge, shooting a 229 (13-over) and again pacing the Hawkeyes.
The recent success for Fujitani comes after struggling a little during the fall season and early in the spring season. The difference for her lately has been her confidence.
“I think the biggest key for my success is trusting myself a lot,” Fujitani said. “In the beginning, I was struggling with trusting myself. Then something just clicked, where I was like, ‘I’ve done this before, so just keep on doing what I know.’ ”
Iowa has enjoyed the payoff of whatever clicked for Fujitani, and her success has not gone unnoticed by her teammates.
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“It’s really good,” Jessica Ip said about Fujitani’s performance. “It’s great to see someone so young step up and contribute to the team. She has so much more potential, and seeing what she can do these next few years is interesting.”
It wasn’t just her teammates who recognized Fujitani’s strong play recently; the Big Ten took notice, too.
On April 4, the conference named Fujitani the Big Ten Golfer of the Week after the Bruzzy Challenge. It was the first award of her career, and she became the first Hawkeye to earn the honor since Amy Ihm did so in 2016.
A freshman performing so well early in her career is a good way to get any coach excited, and Iowa coach Megan Menzel is no different.
“[Fujitani’s] just really coming along, and we’re really excited,” Menzel said. “She’s just a great competitor. She’s maturing in lots of ways, and her game has been really good the past few weeks.”
While some are surely surprised at the success of a freshman on a senior-laden team, Fujitani’s success is something Menzel expected.
“We knew she was a good player,” Menzel said. “She played at a high level as a junior player, so it’s not surprising. She’s definitely turning heads, and it’s great to see her have so much success.”
With the season winding down, it’s time for the Big Ten Tournament, which comes up this weekend, and the Hawkeyes hope Fujitani can continue her recent success.
While some young players might be overwhelmed by the big stage, she tries her best to play down the largeness of the moment.
“My thoughts are to stay focused and have fun,” she said. “I’ve played golf 1,000 times, so I’m just going to look at it as any other tournament.”
Iowa hit the road for the tournament in Cincinnati on Wednesday and will compete from Friday through April 22.