A dominant 30-stroke victory at the Chip-N Club Invitational propels the Irish into two on-the-road tournaments next week.
The Irish travel first to Louisville, Kentucky, to play the Cardinal Cup hosted by ACC-rival Louisville at the University of Louisville Golf Club on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20, before traveling to Wilmington, North Carolina, to close out their fall season at the Landfall Tradition at the Country Club of Landfall from Oct. 23 to Oct. 25.
This year marks the first time the Irish compete in the Cardinal Cup, and their event debut features a strong competition field, including No. 15 East Carolina, No. 21 Louisville and Florida State. However, the Irish were able to overcome their last tournament's field, as freshman Isabella DiLisio finished second with a two-under par 215 at the Chip-N Club Invitational. DiLisio said she looks to build off of her fundamental-based performance in Louisville and Wilmington.
“It was awesome to be able to play well and finish second in a big tournament as a freshman,” DiLisio said. “I was just really excited, and the whole team played great [in Nebraska].”
“Especially on the second day [in Nebraska] I started making a lot of putts,” DiLisio said, “I didn’t really get myself in too much trouble, for the most part I kept it out of the trees and just made my putts.”
“My irons were good too, so I was able to get on the green and putt for birdie a lot.”
The Irish then return to the Landfall Tradition for the seventh year in a row. Last season, the Irish tied for third place, behind tournament champion Wake Forest and runner-up Alabama. Both the Demon Deacons and Crimson Tide will be among this year's competition at the Tradition.
“It’s a really tough field, really strong, a lot of good ACC teams,” DiLisio said.
"If we can beat a couple of the really good teams like they did last year and finish pretty high, I think our ranking will jump up a lot.”
Last year the Irish defeated a host of ranked opponents at the Landfall Tradition, including ACC rivals now-No. 6 Duke, No. 10 Virginia and then-No. 16 North Carolina State. Junior Jordan Ferreira finished with the lowest score of current team members last season with a two-over 218 to tie for sixteenth. DiLisio said that is the goal once again, as the Irish transition into their Spring season.
“If we can try to keep lowering our scoring average as a team, then we will finish better and then our ranking will get better,” DiLisio said.
The Irish head to Louisville's home territory for the Cardinal Cup at the University of Louisville Golf Club on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20. The team completes its Fall season at the Landfall Tradition three days later in Wilmington, North Carolina, at the Country Club of Landfall from Oct. 23 to Oct. 25.
