Against tough fields, it has been a challenge for Ohio’s women’s golf team to place well in tournaments, but midway through the schedule, individual scores continue to buoy performances.
The play of Angela Codian and Kara Brinkmann has paced the Bobcats through three events so far in the spring season.
“We’ve had some very difficult fields to work with and compete against, so our overall team finishes has been a challenge,” coach Kelly Ovington said. “But we’ve had individuals be successful, which has propelled our confidence, and I think we’re going to see that as we continue.”
At the MSU Ocala Collegiate Invitational, Brinkmann led the Bobcats with a three-day score of 225, headlined by a career-best 69, the third-best score by a women’s golfer in program history. She finished tied for 13th in the tournament.
Codian, a freshman, placed second for the Bobcats with a consistent showing of 76-75-78 for a three-day total of 229, and a tie for 22nd overall.
Ohio placed ahead of Mid-American Conference foe Akron by one stroke for the tournament and finished in the second-to-last spot in the invitational.
On April 5 and 6, Ohio will travel to Kentucky to play in the Lady Colonel Classic at Arlington Golf Course. Last season, the Bobcats placed in a tie for eighth out of 13 teams.
“(The Arlington Golf Course is) hilly, short, has small greens and is a tree-lined old course, so it’s what we play up here,” said Ovington. “I feel like we have a step-up on the competition playing a similar course, and it shows, because we are fairly successful with that venue.”
Next up: NYX Hoosier Invitational.
Following an 11th-place finish at the Pinehurst Invitational, the men’s team members will take to the links in Hoosier country on April 6 and 7, where they will play at Indiana University. Last season, the team finished eight out of 16 teams, despite each Bobcat shooting in the 70s for the duration of the tournament.
Current senior Byron Firestone shot a first round 74 but finished with two rounds of 72 to finish in a tie for 25th, while present junior Connor Coldwater shot 220 across the two-day invitational, two strokes behind Firestone.
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