If there’s one word to describe sophomore golfer Ashley Bauer, it’s “consistent.”
Bauer has posted three-round totals of 230 or lower in her past four tournaments, and led the Wolverines’ scoring in six of their 10 matches this season.
She has finished in the top 10 three times this year, including a 9th-place finish at the Indiana Invitational yesterday and Monday. Bauer carded a season-best 1-under par (71) and finished with a two-day total of 219.
“She played really consistent all weekend,” Michigan coach Kathy Teichert said. “She capitalized on a lot of shots, and her scoring irons were really working well for her.”
Bauer’s second-round score was the first below-par round for the Wolverines all year.
“I had a bogey-free round, which is always nice, and I think I hit 13 greens,” Bauer said. “I did not really have any extravagant shots, but I was just getting up and down. I was just having fun out there, and it was nice to play well.”
Teichert said Bauer’s consistency comes from her effort and commitment to improving her game.
“In comparison to the fall, she might feel like she has not posted scores as low as she would have liked,” Teichert said. “But now, she is starting to shoot really well, as you can see by her great performance this weekend.”
And Teichert expects the warmer weather and outside practice to help Bauer and the rest of the Wolverines even more.
“We have not been able to practice outside because of the weather, so our practice rounds have been the five-hour rounds in tourney golf,” Teichert said. “I think when the girls are able to see the ball land next to the hole, it does a lot for their play.”
The Wolverines have finished in the middle of the pack for most of the season because of careless play close to the hole. Michigan has finished in the top five just once this season.
“We have to convert those shots from 60 to 80 yards out, and right now, we are not doing it,” Teichert said. “We are not getting up and down out there when we make those 20-or 30-yard miscue shots, and we are three-putting when we get to the green. That is something that you just cannot do at this level.”
With the Big Ten Championships coming up in just over two weeks, Bauer knows the Wolverines will need to correct those little mistakes if they hope to compete with Big Ten powerhouses Purdue and Michigan State.
“I think we are all going to put more time in and work on those shots from 100 yards in, me especially,” Bauer said. “We can all shoot low scores, but we just have to pull it all together, which I think we can do.”