Feb. 22, 2011
PARRISH, Fla. – The 15th-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s golf team concluded the Central District Invitational in 10th place (904/+40) after two days of competition at the River Wilderness Golf Club in Parrish, Fla. Freshman Nicole Zhang (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop Carroll) finished tied for 10th place by registering a three-under par 69 in the final round of the tournament which brought her three-round total 219 (+3).
Zhang logged five birdies in her final 18-holes and bested her first-round score by seven strokes and her second-round total by five strokes. The overall finish marked Zhang’s fifth top-10 showing in less than one full season at Notre Dame.
Senior So-Hyun Park (Seoul, South Korea/Bradenton Prep Academy) continued to improve her score in each round. Beginning the invite with a 77 (+5), Park carded a 76 (+4) in the second round before concluding the tournament with a 75 (+3). Park’s 12-over total of 228 placed her in a tie for 41st.
Junior Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo./Littleton) registered a 229 (+13) and finished tied for 45th. Huffer carded two birdies in the final round, one on the par-four fourth hole and another on the par-five 15th hole.
Freshman Kristina Nhim (Cypress, Calif./Cypress) rounded out the Irish effort by carding a 73 (+1) in the final 18-holes of the 54-hole tournament. Each member of the Irish lineup improved her score in the final round of the tournament.
No. 16 Iowa State claimed the tournament crown. The Cyclones registered a five-under par 283 on the day and a three-round total of 868 (+4). No. 4 LSU dropped one spot to second place (877/+13) and No. 16 Texas A&M registered a three-round total of 881 (+17) for third place.
LSU’s Austin Ernst claimed the crown with a 213 (-3), followed by Brooke Beeler of TCU in second place with 214 (-2) as Laurence Herman of Iowa State was the third-place finisher, recording an even-par 216.
The Irish return to action March 14 at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational. The two-day tournament will be held at the Kaneohe Klipper in Kaneohe, Hawaii.
Team Scoring:
1. Iowa State (+4/289-296-283-868)
2. LSU (+13/293-290-294-877)
3. Texas A&M (+17/290-294-297-881)
4. TCU (+23/290-297-300-887)
5. Michigan State (+24/300-303-285-888)
6. Northwestern (+29/294-304-295-893)
7. Ohio State (+31/303-302-290-895)
8. Kent State (+33/303-293-301-897)
9. Michigan (+37/301-302-298-901)
10. Notre Dame (+40/303-308-293-904)
11. Arkansas (+45/302-309-298-909)
12. Minnesota (+46/307-300-303-910)
13. Indiana (+51/304-312-299-915)
14. Baylor (+58/303-314-305-922)
15. Missouri (+75/313-321-305-939)
Notre Dame Scoring:
T10. Nicole Zhang (+3/76-74-69-219)
T41. So-Hyun Park (+12/77-76-75-228)
T45. Becca Huffer (+13/75-78-76-229)
54. Kristina Nhim (+15/78-80-73-231)
T66. Katie Conway (+20/75-81-80-236)
–ND–