Women’s golf wins Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational

The Kent State women’s golf team ended its fall season on a high note with its third straight tournament win. The Flashes took first place at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational with a 5-under-par 859 score.  The team shot 4-under-par on the day.  

“We were just talking, saying that winning never gets old. It was good to see them come off those two wins and then do what they did this week,” said head coach Greg Robertson. “The focus was there in practice, and then when we got to the tournament they turned it on. They played like we did in the last two tournaments.”

No.17-ranked Taylor Kim led the Flashes the whole tournament, and finished tied for second place at 4-under-par with a third round score of 1-under-par 71. 

“She played real solid again. She’s hitting the ball well, and she’s continuing to putt well and making a lot of good putts out there,” Robertson said. “But, overall, she’s played very solid and steady. It’s nice when you have a player like that too because it seems then the rest of the team just kind of follows suit.” 

No. 71-ranked senior Josée Doyon ended in fifth place at 1-under-par with a third round score of 1-under-par 71. No. 85-ranked senior Amira Alexander ended the tournament in 17th place at 3-over-par with a third round score of even par 72. No. 44-ranked junior Wad Phaewchimplee finished tied for 28th place at 7-over-par with a third round score of 4-over-par 76, and No. 92-ranked freshman Michaela Finn ended the tournament tied for 31st place at 8-over-par with a third round score of 2-under-par 70.  

“We talked after the first tournament, and we had, by far, the worst round of the year the second round of that tournament in Minnesota.  But, looking back, I see it as a blessing in disguise,” Robertson said. “We’ve really been talking about attitude, finishing tournaments, finishing rounds, and I think the players really bought into it. What’s I’ve been impressed with, especially in our returners, is how they’ve come into the last round playing aggressive, and really playing their best golf. Today I think we came in the only team under par, and we’ve done that the past three tournaments”  

The Flashes will not play again until the Mid-American Match Play Challenge on Feb. 8 and 9. 

“There will be a little bit of a break. Now that the seasons over, they can just take some time off and focus on school work,” Robertson said. “But we’ll stay going and go pretty hard in the weight room.” 

Contact Chris Yamnitsky at [email protected].