The Arizona women’s golf team headed to Chicago for the Windy City Collegiate Tournament on Monday. The Wildcats scored 12-under-par at the tournament last season to split the title with Georgia.
The tournament gave way to some tough competition with 10 of the 14 teams having competed in the NCAA Championships last year and eight of the teams currently ranked in the top 25. The Wildcats squared off against No. 3 USC, No. 7 Florida, No. 9 Georgia, No. 10 Duke, No.11 Oklahoma State, No.16 Northwestern, No. 17 Purdue, No. 20 Ohio State, Oregon, Iowa State, Stanford, Tulane and Vanderbilt.
Arizona finished the first two rounds of play Monday at 7-over-par in a tie for eighth place. At the end of day one, Georgia led the team tournament at 12-under-par as well as the individual tournament with Bailey Tardy at -9.
Sophomore Haley Moore ended day one in a tie for 13th place at 1-under-par, with scores of 71 and 72. Senior Wanasa Zhou sat at 3-over-par in a tie for 32nd while junior Krystal Quihuis finished day one in a tie for 17th at 2-over-par. Freshman Sandra Nordaas finished the first two rounds in a tie for 46th place with rounds of 72 and 77. After a solid first day, the Wildcats were confident they could move forward with some good scores on day two of play.
The tournament continued on Tuesday with round three for the Wildcats, where they aimed for better scores, fewer mistakes and an overall better finish. Arizona finished in eighth place overall with 15-over-par and a final score of 879.
“They have been playing with a rushed mentality and need to relax and stay patient on the course,” head coach Laura Ianello said. Georgia finished the tournament in first place with 10-under-par and a total score of 854, followed by Stanford in second and USC in third.
The individual winner of the 2016 Windy City Collegiate was Andrea Lee of Stanford, who finished with a final score of 206 after sinking a birdie putt on the 54th hole. Moore and Quihuis finished in a tie for 12th with third-round scores of 73 and 72 and a final score of 216. Nordaas ended the tournament in a tie for 41st with a final score of 223.
The Wildcats will look to improve their team and individual scores in upcoming tournaments as the season wears on. Laura Ianello’s focus in practice will be putting and approach shots, which will hopefully give the Wildcats stronger overall play as the season continues. The women return to the green on Oct. 24 at the Hawaii Pac-12 Preview in Kailua Kona, Hawaii.
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