No. 22 Notre Dame will step up to the tee for its first tournament since October when it travels to Peoria, Arizona, for the Westbrook Spring Invitational this weekend.
Despite the long hiatus, Irish head coach Susan Holt said she feels confident in her team’s preparation.
“So far, I think we’re in a good place,” Holt said. “This weekend, we took a practice trip down to Florida, and we were able to practice for a few hours each day and play 18 holes on Saturday and Sunday. I was pleased with where they’re at with their games right now. I think they’re ready to go and get back in there, play some tournament golf.”
The two-day event begins Sunday morning with a shotgun start. The 15-team field will be split into threesomes for the first 36 holes, featuring golfers from the College of Charleston, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, Oregon State, No. 16 San Diego State, SMU, UNLV, Washington State and host Wisconsin. Pairings for the last 18 holes will be determined by score Monday.
With prior experience at the par-72 Vistas Course, Holt said she does not have any particular concerns regarding her team’s play.
“We played in this tournament last year and really liked the golf course,” Holt said. “That’s the main reason why I chose to come back. I just think it’s a good golf course to get our season started with. It’s a manageable golf course; it’s a scoreable golf course.”
The Irish tied for third of 15 teams at last year’s invitational, finishing with a 4-over-par 868.
This year’s squad of eight golfers features three freshmen and five returning upperclassmen. The team has placed no lower than seventh in tournament play this year. Senior and team captain Talia Campbell, second in program history with a 74.46 career stroke average, will lead the team this weekend. But Holt highlighted the varied skill set of her team and said she could not pick out just one player whom she expects to do particularly well.
“And that’s a good thing for us,” Holt said. “We have a lot of depth on our team. That’s the strength of our team, is that we’re not relying on one or two people to have a good round every time out. We have a really good balance there. From what I see this week, I think we’ll be able to compete and hopefully be able to continue the success we had in the fall.”
The Irish look to ease into their spring season when the invitational begins Sunday at 8:30 a.m.
