Notre Dame landed in the middle of the pack in its first tournament of the fall season on Monday and Tuesday, finishing seventh overall among a 15-team field at the Minnesota Invitational in Woodbury, Minnesota.
Irish head coach Susan Holt saw plenty of bright moments from her team, but it wasn’t quite the finish that she had envisioned.
“Certainly we were hoping to have a better [team] finish,” Holt said. “Overall, I thought [our] play was pretty good. We just didn’t capitalize enough on our good shots, and we hit too many errant shots that cost us some bigger numbers on some holes.”
Holt said she had been hoping for her players to show a bit more consistency between rounds.
“Everybody had at least one solid round, which was good,” she said. “We just need to have that happen more often.”
Holt was especially impressed by the performance of Irish freshman golfer Claire Albrecht. In her collegiate debut, Albrecht shot an even par 72 in two of her three rounds. The freshman finished with a combined 219-stroke total, good enough to finish tied for 14th individually.
“I was really pleased with how she played and how she handled herself,” Holt said. “She was really steady.”
Albrecht’s composure showed; her combined score ended up the lowest among the six Irish golfers competing at the tournament.
“If anything, it was encouraging,” Holt said. “She belongs in Division I golf. She’s capable of competing at this level, and it should give her a lot of confidence moving forward.”
Production came from across the board for the Irish. Claire’s older sister senior Emma Albrecht also posted a strong showing, shooting 220 and tying for 17th overall. Senior teammate Maddie Rose Hamilton made par on 41 holes, tying her for the second-most pars among all players at the competition. Hamilton shot a 223, leaving her tied for 35th overall.
“We have the talent,” Holt said. “It’s just a matter of executing while we’re there and letting that talent come through.”
Notre Dame is scheduled to compete later this month at the University of Oklahoma. Holt has seen the team succeed there before and hopes her players use the tournament as a jumping-off point for the rest of the fall season.
“We’ve played in that tournament a few years now, consecutively,” she said. “It’s just a great golf course, a lot of fun to play. There’s going to be a really good field with a lot of top-25 teams. ... It should give us an opportunity to kind of rebound and pick up some really good learning against some great competition.”
Holt knows the team is talented enough to put up strong numbers; it just comes down to preparation.
“All the girls have had good rounds there,” she said. “They’re excited to get back and practice that rebound and get a good finish out there early in the season.”
The Irish return to action Friday, Sept. 28 at the Schooner Fall Classic. The three-day tournament runs through Sunday and will be held at Belmar Golf Club in Norman, Oklahoma.
