Iowa women’s golf heads to Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate

The three-round tournament begins Friday morning and concludes on Sunday.

Paula+Miranda+practices+her+putt+at+Finkbine+Golf+Course+on+Thursday%2C+Sept.+16%2C+2021.

Gabby Drees

Paula Miranda practices her putt at Finkbine Golf Course on Thursday, Sept. 16, 2021.

Chris Werner, Sports Reporter


Iowa women’s golf will begin action Friday at the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate at the University of Denver Golf Club in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

The three-round tournament will conclude on Sunday, featuring 18 holes per day.

The par-72, 6,415-yard course is the longest track the Hawkeyes have competed on this season. But the mile-high altitude in Denver could shorten the course, as the ball will travel farther in the thin air.

Head coach Megan Menzel said the Hawkeyes have prepared for the altitude using their Trackman yardage measuring devices.

“We can set our Trackmans to the elevation [we’ll have in Colorado], so they can get all their carry distances,” Menzel said. “That helps them a lot.”

Menzel added that the University of Denver Golf Course is similar to multiple courses in the mountain west region of the U.S. — wide fairways, but difficult greens.

“It’s kind of a typical Colorado course,” Menzel said. “A little bit more room off the tees and, you know, obviously at elevation. I know they’ve had some nice weather out there, so I expect the greens to be probably decently firm and fast, which is good because that’s what we’ve been playing on here at Finkbine.”

The last time Iowa competed in Colorado, the team finished 14th of 18 teams at the Golfweek Conference Challenge in Vail in fall 2016.

This week, freshman Paula Miranda, sophomore Klara Wildhaber, junior Lea Zeitler, and seniors Dana Lerner and Manuela Lizarazu will make up the Hawkeye team roster. Junior Lily Gentzkow will compete as an individual.

Miranda has led Iowa in each of her first two events in the Black and Gold.

RELATED: Iowa women’s golf freshman Paula Miranda makes mark in fall tournaments

The freshman from Puebla, Mexico, notched her first career top-20 finish at the Badger Invitational Sept. 19-21, tying for 20th with a 6-over-par 222.

Miranda has a team-leading 73.83 scoring average over six rounds this fall.

“She’s a good ball-striker,” Menzel said of Miranda. “She hits more greens than everybody else right now. She definitely can continue to improve, 100 yards and in, like getting up and down. She’s actually been draining some putts recently…she’s feeling a little bit more confident on the greens.”

Menzel added that if Miranda continues to improve her short game, she may not only be the best on Iowa’s team — but one of the top players in the country.

Over the summer, Miranda finished in third place in the 72nd annual U.S. Junior Amateur Championship — a competition between the best junior golfers in the country.

Miranda and her teammates will compete against 14 other schools from all parts of the country, as Rutgers is the only other Big Ten team teeing it up in Highlands Ranch.

The field includes University of California-Davis, Cal Poly, Colorado State, Denver, East Tennessee State, Grand Canyon, Hawaii, Kansas, Nevada, Northern Colorado, South Florida, Tulane, and Wyoming.

Live scoring of the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate can be found on Birdiefire.com

After returning from the Rocky Mountain State, The Hawkeyes will tee it up one last time this fall when the Hawkeyes travel to the Bahamas to compete at the White Sands Bahamas NCAA Golf Invitational from Oct. 22-24.