The Notre Dame football team isn't the only team traveling to the state of Michigan this weekend, as the Irish women's golf squad is off to Lansing to compete in the Mary Fossum Invitational Saturday and Sunday.
This two-day tournament, previously called the Michigan State Invitational, marks the beginning of the regular season schedule for Notre Dame. The Irish have already teed it up as a team overseas, playing five courses in eight days in Ireland, but that was a friendly competition amongst teammates.
The team will now enter its first competition when it joins a strong field of 17 other squads including host No. 20 Michigan State, No. 12 Purdue, Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota.
The tournament came down to the last few holes last year as the Irish finished third with a team score of 27-over par, their best finish in program history. Michigan State tied with Kent State for first place at 25-over.
Individually, sophomore Becca Huffer led the way for the Irish with a three-round score of 224 (eight-over). The Irish return the core of their team from their 16th place finish at the NCAA Regionals a season ago.
"I think our greatest asset this year is going to be the depth of our team and the competitive experience of our team," said Irish coach Susan Holt.
Leading the way are seniors Annie Brophy, who has the third-best stroke average in Notre Dame history (76.95) and has played in all of Notre Dame's 96 rounds since her freshman year. The Irish will also count on consistent rounds from sophomore Becca Huffer, who was named Big East Freshman of the Year last year, and junior So-Hyun Park who took home honorable mention All-America honors.
As for the Invitational this weekend, the Irish will use the same lineup as last season, which includes Brophy, Huffer, Park, senior Kristin Wetzel and junior Katie Conway.
Park in particular had great success last year, leading all individuals in the tournament after the first two rounds and posting an impressive 4-under, 68 in the second round.
Live scoring of the Invitational will be available on Golfstat.com
