Women's golf finishes 7th in McGuire Invitational

After posting a third round score of 296, the Indiana women’s golf team finished in seventh place with a score of 896 in the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational at the University of New Mexico Championship Golf Course.

The final round was highlighted by sophomore Elizabeth Tong’s three-under 70 to jump into a tie for sixth place individually.

It was Indiana’s lowest individual round of the tournament.

“For the majority of the tournament, she played well enough to win or at least be up there,” IU Coach Clint Wallman said. “She had a rough stretch in the first round, but the fact that she came back so strong is a major testament to her character. She was a real anchor for the team over the last 36 holes of the tournament.”

Team captain and junior Kate Coons finished in a tie for 32nd overall after posting scores of 71-78-77 during the two-day event.

Freshman Marissa DeCola competed in the first away tournament of her collegiate career, and Wallman said she performed to his expectations.

“She did great,” Wallman said. “She was disappointed, and there were a few stretches where she didn’t get it done, but she really proved that she has the game to compete with the big girls. She did what she needed to do.”

DeCola finished tied for 35th after scoring a 79 on her final round.

Graduate student Kristen Schelling finished just one stroke back of DeCola after posting a final round score of 75 to give her tie for 39th.

She finished the tournament with round scores of 73-81-75, respectively.

The final golfer for IU, senior Pamela Burneski, shot a 74 in the final round of competition, one over par.

Burneski started slow in this tournament, but finished strong on the final day, Wallman said.

“She is a very accomplished player,” Wallman said. “She didn’t have the putts go her way on day one, but she putted better once she got into a rhythm.”

IU entered Tuesday’s final round in ninth place, four strokes behind Colorado and Pepperdine, both of whom were tied for seventh on the team leaderboard.

IU’s final round propelled the team ahead of both schools and helped the Hoosiers finish just 10 strokes off tournament champion Iowa State’s score of 886.

“They came out and had their best round today,” Wallman said. “Not a surprise. We proved we can play and get it done. At one point today, we were six-under par, so we actually need to work on finishing stronger, still. We can tee it up with anyone. We just need a little more consistency.”

Wallman said his team is coming back to Bloomington with added confidence after their strong finish.

“For 45 of the 54 holes, we were right there,” he said. “Even today, we were just a couple shots off the lead at one point. Any time you can take on top 25 teams and look them straight in the eye, that’s a real confidence booster. Knowing you can compete and actually competing are two different things. We proved that we can actually compete.”