Women’s golf ties for seventh place at Indiana Invitational

By Christopher Cook

The Illini women’s golf team shot a 642 and tied for seventh out of 19 in the 22nd-annual Indiana Invitational this weekend in Bloomington, Ind.

At the end of Saturday’s action, the Illini were No. 12 on the scoreboard but advanced five spots on Sunday, led by junior Megan Godfrey who shot 153, including a dazzling 71, one under par in the final round.

This was Godfrey’s first-ever under par and the second best round score of any player in the tournament, lifting the junior to fifth place in the individual standings.

“I felt like we played better than we scored on Saturday,” Godfrey said. “It felt good to get some results in the final round.”

It was a tremendous team effort, however, which allowed the Illini to advance, with all the players improving their scores in the final round. Out of the 19 teams, the Illini’s 311 score in the second round tied with Marshall for the third best.

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Senior Lyndsey Milligan pointed out the Illini’s ability to stay on track when other teams seemed to lose focus.

“I’m overall really proud of our girls for improving five spots,” Milligan said.

Milligan finished with a 161 score and provided one of the tournament’s highlights when she hit a shot from the fairway for her first career eagle.

The Illini, playing in the mid-west for the first time since Oct. 2004, battled wind and terrible weather on Saturday. The players were brought on and off the course three times and the 36-hole schedule was eventually shortened to 18.

Several players pointed out the transition from playing in places like Florida.

“It’s harder to swing when you have to wear all these clothes,” Milligan said.

Both Milligan and sophomore Meghan Naik, who finished with a 163 score, pointed out the adjustment that had to be made due to the wind.

“The wind would just take the ball away,” Milligan said.

Notre Dame won the tournament with a score of 620. Notre Dame’s Noriko Nakazaki finished first in the individual standings with a score of 146.