Golfers focus on precision, greens in spring season

IU senior co-Captain Kristtini Cain said there were moments of greatness in the fall for the women’s golf team. With a clean slate moving into the spring season, Cain said she  hopes these moments will help the team ascend in the rankings.

“We have a lot of potential in us,” she said. “There were definitely a lot of moments of greatness and spark. If we can build on the moments we had in the fall, then we should be just fine.”

The Hoosiers will make their spring debut with two events in Parrish, Fla., starting Saturday with a Nassau event against Wisconsin at the River Wilderness
Country Club.

A Nassau is when both teams fight for three points, which are earned for low scoring on the front nine, back nine and total round.

The two teams last paired for a Nassau in 2010 when IU took the victory 9.5 to 8.5.

Sophomore Sophie Hayashi said she looks forward to having a preview of the course before their official season-opener, the Central District Invitational on Feb. 20 and 21, also at River Wilderness Country Club.

“While we play Wisconsin, we’ll mostly see what holes we need to plan out and mark greens,” Hayashi said. “We’ll get a feeling for the course moving into the main event.”
IU Coach Clint Wallman said the course has challenging greens and will pose tough shots.

“It’s a good golf course and very unique,” Wallman said. “It has everything. It’s not a traditional links course. There are holes that are wide open and others that are short and narrow with trees.”

Despite a 13th-place finish at the tournament this past year, Cain said the team is excited to enter the season with new techniques and confidence.

“We’ve been working a lot on putting, and we are trying out a new system of understanding the greens this season,” Cain said. “Each of us wants to improve at least one or two shots individually.”

Cain tied for 41st at the event this past year, while junior Rosie Davies tied for 72nd. Junior co-Captain Kate Coons, junior Pamela Burneski and freshman Elizabeth Tong will join Cain, Davies and Hayashi in this year’s lineup.

Davies led the Hoosiers in the fall with two top-10 finishes, including medalist honors at the IU Fall Kickoff. Cain notched a team-best four top-25 finishes and a 76.42 average in 14 rounds of stroke play, while Davies’s average was a team-best 76. Cain said her main goal this season is to cap off her college career with a win.

“I’ve never won an event in college, but I’ve come close,” Cain said. “It’s all about putting those three rounds together to win.”

Cain is not the only player who hopes for a personal win this season. Freshman newcomer Tong said she also wants to take a win in her first year with the IU squad. In her first season at the college level, Tong had three top-25 finishes and led the team with a tie for eighth at the Lady Northern Invitational.

“I definitely want to take a win in the spring, but my score also affects the team’s score, so it’s not just about me when I have a bad hole,” Tong said. “It’s all about patience.”

“She (Tong) definitely has the talent,” Cain said about her teammate. “We all have it in us, we just need the confidence.”