The Idaho Vandals women’s golf team was back on the links for the third straight week, as they continue to improve their game. Fortunately for the Vandals, they didn’t have to travel very far this week, competing at the WSU Inland Cup in Pullman on Monday and Tuesday.
The three-round, two-day tournament would see the Vandals’ scores improve each round from the opening round 303, by two shots in the second round and another three in the third. Overall, the Vandals would finish at 38 over par, good enough to solidify fifth place by one stroke over UC Irvine. The Vandals’ final round combined score of 10 over par was tied with Washington State for the third best round of the day.
Leading the way for the Vandals this week was junior Rachel Choi. After shooting a five over par in the first round, she bounced back later in the day to score a two over par. In the final round on Tuesday, Choi caught fire and shot a one under 71. Her final round moved her up into a tie for 10th place with Gonzaga’s Genavive Dodge and Portland State’s Kristin Henno after she had started all the way back in a tie for 24th.
Three out of the five Vandals who competed this week finished in the top 25. The next best place finisher for the Vandals was a tie between sophomore Kaitlyn Oster and freshman Cassie McKinley at seven over par, which was good enough for a tie for 13th place. Finishing in a tie for 22nd place was sophomore Leilanie Kim at 11 over par. Four top 25 finishes in this tournament will hopefully give the Vandals momentum heading into their next tournament.
Luckily for the Vandals, their next tournament is two weeks away, and head coach Lisa Johnson will have time to help her team prepare for the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Intercollegiate in Las Cruces, N.M, Oct. 8-10.
Jacob Dyer can be reached at [email protected]