After a month-long hiatus from tournament play, the women's golf team swung back into action this weekend at the Carolyn Cudone Intercollegiate in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Blue Devils finished second overall, shooting 919 over three days of action. Louisiana State won the tournament with a score of 913.
This was the first year head coach Dan Brooks tried the strategy of not playing in any tournaments in October. Brooks saw both positives and negatives of his strategy this weekend.
"The good side is that it lets you get away from the game--because the season is so long--so you're excited to play when the tournaments come," Brooks said. "The potential bad side is that you're spending a whole month [away] from real, genuine competition.
"You just can never make practice rounds as intense as a tournament can be. You have to exercise your mind in this game, and I didn't feel like the mental side was really there."
The Blue Devils' biggest mental lapse came on the second day of the competition. Fighting a strong wind, Duke shot 315, a round that Brooks considered subpar for the team. He credited the poor performance on the day to the team's inability to hit the greens.
"We missed more greens on that day, which put a premium on getting it up-and-down, and we didn't get it up-and-down," he said. "We just weren't doing it. Usually that comes down to mental toughness. I would have to say that middle day we just weren't as tough."
The 315 dropped the Blue Devils into third place after two days of action at 614. On the final day, Brooks was pleased with the team's improved mental attitude, as Duke rebounded from its miserable performance on Saturday and clinched second place with a 305 showing.
As she has done often throughout her Duke career, senior Kathi Poppmeier paced the Blue Devils, shooting 73, 74 and 75 over the three days, for a total of 222 and a second-place overall finish. Brooks was impressed with Poppmeier's play, especially after the team's time off from tournaments.
"Kathi separated herself from the others, and I really like the way she's looking on the golf course right now," Brooks said. "Despite that big layoff, it looks to me like she's starting to come together both physically and mentally."
Freshman Jenny Chuasiriporn also had a solid tournament, finishing ninth overall with a 229. Like most of the rest of the team, Chuasiriporn had a strong first day. Chuasiriporn opened the tournament by shooting a 72, but she shot a 81 the next day. On the final day, she fought back with a 76.
Brooks was also impressed with the final day performance of junior Liz Leptano. After shooting an 83 in the first two rounds, Leptano battled back and finished with a 75. Brooks said her performance was an example of the team's overall mental toughness the final day, as Leptano was unwilling to settle for a standard round of 83.
Next weekend, the team travels to Hilton Head, S.C, for the Golf World/Palmetto Dunes tournament. Now that his team has had more tournament experience, Brooks is optimistic about the Blue Devils' chances next week.
"What I would like them to take from this tournament is that they have got what it takes to win at Hilton Head," Brooks said. "We just had mental practice that we needed.
"This is what we needed through October. We just got it here, and we should be prepared for Hilton Head. I think we're ready to win that tournament."
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