Puddled greens coupled with flashes of thunder and lightning plagued the course for the Michigan women’s golf team. Over the weekend, the Wolverines finished their fall season at what was supposed to be a three-day tournament at the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, North Carolina. They got called off the course on Friday due to weather, and the tournament was suspended until Saturday morning.
Though these poor weather conditions might have actually been an advantage for Michigan. The Wolverines are used to getting their paws wet and playing through rough conditions.
“Being from Michigan, we get the chance to practice in these rough conditions,” said Michigan coach Jan Dowling. “We really just stayed tough, limited our mistakes, and handled it well.”
It almost seemed like Michigan embodied the bishop from Caddyshack in that one rainy scene on the green (before he got struck by lightning).
After the thunderstorms and rain, the Wolverines faced a challenging lineup that boasted several top-25 teams and played up to the competition.
This tournament concluded the fall season, so Michigan will be not be competing again until February. The confidence and enthusiasm derived from this strong finish could certainly bleed into the team’s postseason work ethic.
“We will continue to get better through daily effort and on a consistent basis,” Dowling said.
On Saturday, using team totals of 306 and 293, the Wolverines had a 46-hole total of 599, which tied them with Maryland for fifth-place.
Freshmen Ashley Lau and Sophia Trombetta led Michigan through the Saturday tournament; the two tied for ninth with a 147 two-round total. Lau shot a 71-76, and Trombetta shot a 77-70. Lau opened her event tying her career-low, carding a one-under 71 in the first round, while Trombetta, carding a two-under 70 in the second round, also tied her career-best as well as the Wolverines’ season-low.
“Ashely and Sophia had awesome rounds,” Dowling said. “Having freshmen on the leaderboard really shows the depth of our team. It also gives the team a lot of confidence that any of them can be up there.”
This type of performance continued into Sunday. Michigan, with a final-round tally of 297 and season-low 896 54-hole total, closed its fall season with a fifth-place finish. This can be credited to Trombetta and Lau’s consistent playing. Lau led the Wolverines with her career-low 221 54-hole total. Additionally, she got a career-best tie for 11th place overall.
“In other tournaments we were not playing up to our capabilities, but here we competed well in tough conditions,” Dowling said. “We showed up and played.”