March 13, 2015
MESA, Ariz. — It’s not often a team finds itself only one stroke off the lead in a college golf tournament, but is hardly in a mood for celebration.
Yet, that was the feeling for the University of Notre Dame women’s golf team, which opened at eight-over par 296 and stands second after Friday’s first round of the fourth annual Notre Dame Clover Cup at the Longbow Golf Club (par 72/6,184 yards) in Mesa, Arizona.
The 32nd-ranked Fighting Irish are one shot behind No. 26 Arizona State and one stroke clear of Oklahoma through 18 holes, with the 15-team field navigating warm and windy conditions during the first round.
“Overall, we managed to post a respectable score,” Notre Dame head coach Susan Holt said. “It was windy early in the day and the course was playing tough. Putting was where we lost most of our shots today. We had some three-putts and didn’t convert on some others in the 4-6 foot range for birdie and par. We just need to get the ball in the hole faster.”
Junior Talia Campbell (Dallas, Texas/Ursuline Academy) led the Notre Dame effort, moving into a tie for fifth place in the 89-player event after carding an even-par 72 in the opening round. She is three shots behind tournament co-leaders Monica Vaughn of Arizona State and Hannah Wood of Oklahoma, both of whom fired a first-round 69.
Campbell look sharp early in Friday’s action, making the turn at one-under following a birdie on No. 9. She gave that shot back three holes later, but otherwise turned in a consistent round that includes eight pars on the back nine.
Sophomore Jordan Ferreira (University Place, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) is tied for seventh place following a one-over par 73 on Friday. Ferreira charged home in impressive fashion, collecting birdies on her final two holes of the round.
Senior Kelli Oride (Lihue, Hawaii/Kauai) is tied for 17th place at three-over par 75. Oride had nine pars on her first 11 holes and after consecutive birdies on Nos. 14-15, she was at one-over for the day, but bogeys on two of her final three holes pushed the Fighting Irish veteran down the leaderboard slightly.
Senior captain Ashley Armstrong (Flossmoor, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor) had an up-and-down first round and is tied for 23rd place at four-over par 76. Armstrong bracketed her front nine with birdies, but four bogeys in the middle left her two strokes in the black. She then bogeyed Nos. 11 and 13, followed by a double bogey at No. 14, but as quickly as those blemishes popped up, they disappeared under the healing power of consecutive birdies on the 15th and 16th holes, pushing her up into the top 25 on the individual ladder.
Freshman Kari Bellville (Granger, Ind./Penn) rounded out the Fighting Irish starting lineup on Friday, shooting a 12-over par 84 that has her tied for 71st place.
Two other Notre Dame players are competing as individual participants this weekend. Sophomore Janie Fineis (East Lansing, Mich./Lansing Catholic) made her season debut and posted a 13-over par 85 that has her in a tie for 76th place, while freshman Alison Snakard (Collegeville, Pa./Mount Saint Joseph Academy) posted a 14-over par 86 that is good for a share of 80th place.
The Fighting Irish will be back on the course for the second round of the Notre Dame Clover Cup at 11 a.m. EDT/8 a.m. MST Saturday. Live in-progress scoring will be available through the BirdieFire web site.
“We didn’t have our best (Friday), but we are still in it and have a chance to win, which is what the goal is,” Holt said.
For more information on the Notre Dame women’s golf program, sign up to follow the Fighting Irish women’s golf Twitter pages (@NDsidMasters or @NDwomensGolf) or register for the Irish ALERT text-messaging system through the “Fan Center” pulldown menu on the front page at UND.com.
Notre Dame Clover Cup
March 13, 2015 — Through One Round
Longbow Golf Club (par 72/6,184 yards)
Mesa, Ariz.
TEAM SCORES (18-hole totals): 1. Arizona State 295; 2. NOTRE DAME 296; 3. Oklahoma 297; 4. Florida International 306; 5. East Carolina 307; 6. SMU 308; 7. TCU 310; 8. Georgia State 312; 9. Cincinnati 313; 10. South Florida 315; 11. (tie) Ole Miss and Nebraska 318; 13. Sam Houston State 319; 14. Tulsa 321; 15. UNC Wilmington 326.
TOP NINE INDIVIDUALS PLUS NOTRE DAME GOLFERS (of 89): 1. (tie) Monica Vaughn (ASU) 69 and Hannah Wood (OU) 69; 3. Lisa Pettersson (ECU) 70; 4. Jenny Haglund (SMU) 71; 5. (tie) Talia Campbell (ND) 72 and Kaitlin Voll (MISS) 72; 7. (tie) Jordan Ferreira (ND) 73, Ashley Burke (USF) 73 and Maggie Neece (OU)* 73; 17. (tie) Kelli Oride (ND) 75; 23. (tie) Ashley Armstrong (ND) 76; 71. (tie) Kari Bellville (ND) 84; 76. (tie) Janie Fineis (ND)* 85; 80. (tie) Alison Snakard (ND)* 86.
* – competing as individual participant
— Chris Masters, Associate Athletic Media Relations Director