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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

Irish ready to open spring season at Westbrook Invitational

The Notre Dame women’s golf squad will begin their spring slate this Sunday at the Westbrook Spring Invitational at the Westbrook Village Golf Club in Peoria, Arizona.

It is a familiar course to veteran Irish golfers like senior Mia Ayer who will play in her fourth appearance at Westbrook. Junior Abby Heck has competed the two previous years and sophomore Claire Albrecht played at the event last season. Albrecht’s older sister Emma, who graduated last spring, also has some fond memories at Westbrook where just last year she shot eight under par, leaving her just one shot shy of Notre Dame’s top 54-hole score in program history, the record that she had set at the 2018 Westbrook Invitational. 

However, the remaining three making up the roster for the Irish are all freshmen. Lauren Beaudreau, Madelyn Jones and Jessica Meyers round out the roster for the Irish, and although they are not quite as experienced as their elders, they have not been slow to put up impressive rounds throughout the fall season. 

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Irish sophomore Claire Albrecht sets up for a putt during an exhibition match at the Warren Golf Course on Aug. 24, 2018.
Irish sophomore Claire Albrecht sets up for a putt during an exhibition match at the Warren Golf Course on Aug. 24, 2018.


Beaudreau is currently tied with Heck and five other golfers for the second-lowest stroke round in program history with their 66’s at the 2019 Schooner Fall Classic. Jones and Myers sit closely behind with career best rounds of 69 from Jones, also at the 2019 Schooner Classic, and a 70 from Myers, who ended the fall slate with her best collegiate round of her career in the first round of the 2019 Texas State Jim West Challenge. 

Irish head coach Susan Holt spoke about her team's youth and how it factors into the first spring season match this weekend. 

“We’ve got a young team and there were a lot of positive takeaways from the fall,” Holt said “It is the second time in the history of the program that our top three players average 73 or better. … For us in golf, your opponent is the golf course. We really can't control what anyone else is doing. We can't control who else is there. I think there are 15 teams in the field [ at the Westbrook Invitational]. So for us it's just about going out and playing to our strengths and maximizing opportunities that we have. This is a golf course that we know very well. Mia [Ayer], she’s a senior, she's been there all four years. Claire [Albrecht] played it last year. Abby [Heck] has played it the last three years, so there is a lot of experience there that will be beneficial to our underclassman as far as practice rounds. We’ll be able to get them up to speed a little bit quicker on just how the golf course plays. … It is a fun golf course, it is a course that I feel is just a really good opportunity to kind of get your game back in shape early in the spring and build some confidence. I know we have been able to do that in years past and I’m looking forward to having that same result this year.”

The Irish will start the competition in Arizona on Sunday and it will conclude the following day.