After a long winter break, the Kent State women’s golf team had a challenging return to competition at the Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.
The Flashes placed 17th out of 18 teams, shooting 37-over-par (901).
This was the first tournament of its spring season, having wrapped up fall competition at the Mercedes Benz Collegiate in Knoxville, Tenn. in late October, where they placed sixth.
Among the participating teams at the Puerto Rico Classic, 11 are ranked in the top 40 of collegiate women’s golf teams in the country, and seven are within the top 25.
Coach Casey VanDamme said the tough field of competition, combined with the team’s long break, hurt the team during the tournament.
“It was a good chance for us to play against the best. Unfortunately, we didn’t play very well,” VanDamme said. “The players will usually play a little bit more during the off season too, but we didn’t have a lot of that with the rough conditions this winter.”
Round one
The Flashes concluded the first round of the tournament tied for 15th place at 17-over-par (305).
Freshman Gracie Larsen finished the round one-over-par (73) to lead the Flashes.
Behind her was sophomore Veronika Kedroňová at four-over-par (76).
Round two
The second round had a few minor improvements for the Flashes. As a team, they shot eight-over-par (296).
Larsen’s success from round one carried over, leading the pack again with an even-par (72).
Kedroňová followed as well, shooting one-over-par (73) in round two.
With two rounds completed, the Flashes sat in 16th place and 25-over-par.
Round three
Larsen kept a similar pace in round three. She shot two-over-par (74) for a final score of three-over-par and a tied-32nd place. She was the Flashes’ top finisher.
Behind Larsen was Kedroňová, who shot two-over-par (74) in round three for an overall seven-over-par, just missing the top 50 for a tied-51st place finish.
Four other Flashes competed in the tournament. Junior Leon Takagi was the third finisher for the Flashes. She shot nine-over-par to tie for 61st place.
The remaining three KSU golfers finished in the bottom 10 out of the 100 participating golfers.
“We had rough starts and finishes during most of the rounds; a lot of that had to do with which holes we were starting on as a shotgun start,” VanDamme said. “We also had very windy conditions, which made control hard. Again, these factors show in our results.”
The team as a whole finished at 12-over-par (300) in the third round, culminating in the 37-over-par final team score and a 17th place finish.
While VanDamme admits his team wasn’t at its best, he knows they still put in a strong effort to open the spring season.
“Nobody really played their best, unfortunately, and we definitely had some rust,” VanDamme said. “But everybody that was there kept fighting through each hole and through each shot.”
Looking ahead
One of the bright sides of the competition was Larsen, who finished in 32nd place with a three-over-par (217). For her efforts in the first event of the spring season, she won the Mid-American Conference Women’s Golfer of the Week award.
The spring season continues for the Flashes Feb. 16 at the Spartan Suncoast Collegiate Invitational in Sarasota, Fla.
VanDamme says that, while it was important to get back into the groove of competing, the team needs to work on stepping up its performances and understanding where it missteps moving forward.
“We’ll first evaluate what needs work individually, and then any themes that we’re seeing as a team that we can work together on,” VanDamme said. “There isn’t a quick fix in our sport, so the ultimate goal is to be ready for the postseason in April and May, but it would be great to get some success before then.”
Kailyn Tibolla is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].