Fresh off a tournament title at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational, the No. 19 Irish hope to have another impressive tournament outing when they head to Wilmington, North Carolina to compete in the Landfall Tradition this weekend.
In its last tournament, Notre Dame won the program’s first tournament since 2015 as the Irish finished first out of 16 teams in the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational in Kentucky. Heading into the Landfall Tradition, Irish head coach Susan Holt reiterated that winning isn’t necessarily the most important heading into the tournament, but that consistent improvement as individuals and as a team are the keys to a successful tournament season.
“Our win at the Kentucky event certainly will motivate this team to have more successes this season,” Holt said. “It’s not always about winning in our sport. When we compete in tournaments there are 15 to 18 teams we are going up against. It’s hard to win golf tournaments.
“... It’s more about each player doing what they need to do to get better and helping the team as a whole be better. Each one of our players is very committed to getting better and that is where the motivation comes from for the team to continue to be successful this season.”
The Landfall Tradition will be the biggest test for the Irish this season as it features a very competitive field with ten out of the 18 teams competing in the tournament ranked within the top 25 in the country, including No. 2 Alabama, No. 4 Duke and No. 6 Oklahoma State. Even though this tournament will be the toughest so far this fall, Holt says the Irish won’t change their approach, and states that the focus is on themselves and playing the course.
“This is the best field we have played in so far this season, but it doesn’t change our approach,” she said. “The key to our success this weekend will be to stay focused on ourselves and what each player needs to do to play the golf course to the best of their ability. The course is really our competition. The players and teams that play the course the best will have the most success.
“... If we stay patient, play smart and with confidence we will have a successful tournament. We just need to keep doing what we have been doing all fall.”
Although the team is returning from a two-week hiatus, Holt is very confident in that the break helped her team, and they will be well rested and prepared for this weekend.
“Since our last event the team had fall break off and most went home and worked on their games with their personal swing coaches,” she said. “I think they will be in excellent form and ready to get back to tournament play.”
The Landfall Tradition will last three days this coming weekend, with first round tee off at 8:30 a.m. Friday.
