Idaho freshman golfer Michelle Kim led the Vandals to a second-place finish at the Pat Lesser Harbottle Invitational earlier this week in Lakewood, Washington. Idaho finished the three-round tournament with a 32-over-par 896.
Kim placed third with a 3-over-par 219. Her performance earned her the Big Sky Women’s Golfer of the Week honor for the third time this fall.
“She (Kim) is a confident player and she brings a lot of international experience,” Johnson said.
The Washington Huskies won the invitational, finishing with a 1-over-par 865. Washington freshman Julianne Alvarez took the individual title, shooting a 5-under-par 211.
Idaho played two rounds Monday (36 holes) and the final round was Tuesday.
The Vandals stood in fourth place after the first round, but kicked it into gear in the second round.
“We played the first nine holes pretty poorly,” Idaho coach Lisa Johnson said. “It was wet and cold in the morning, and we started on difficult holes. As we continued playing, we hit more fairways and were able to hit more greens.”
The Vandals adjusted and their scores lowered. Johnson said the players needed to adjust their game to the course they were playing.
“We were trying to play perfect golf, and that isn’t the type of golf course we were playing,” Johnson said. “We just needed to focus on one shot at a time.
“We needed to make the process a little more simple and start the second round with a fresh mentality,” Johnson said.
Idaho freshman Sophie Hausmann finished in 12th place, shooting a 9-over-par 225 and sophomore Kendall Gray finished in 14th, finishing with an 11-over-par 227.
Idaho senior Cassie McKinley tied for 18th with a 13-over-par 229 and senior Kristin Strankman tied for 49th with a 22-over-par 238. Junior Amy Hasenoehrl, who played as an individual, tied for 44th, finishing with a 20-over-par 236.
The Vandals competed against some Big Sky Conference schools, including Weber State (seventh), Sacramento State (eighth), Eastern Washington (ninth), Montana (tied 13th) and Portland State (tied 13th).
“We are extremely confident,” Johnson said. “We believe we are the best team in the Big Sky and we’ve beat all of the schools in the conference.”
The Vandals will compete in one more invitational this fall — the Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown Oct. 25-27 at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nevada.
“Everyone has had at least one, if not two, good events this year,” Johnson said. “The compilations of the successes of the team will build our confidence up for Las Vegas.”
Boulder Creek Golf Club is the same course the Vandals will compete at in the Big Sky Championship in April.
Johnson said this is an excellent opportunity to preview the championship course.
“We need to work a lot on our wedge game,” Johnson said. “The golf course is pretty dry and firm and we need to improve for the longer par fours and par fives.”
Mihaela Karst can be reached at [email protected]