University of Georgia Athletics
Photo by: Tim Cowie
Bulldogs Back In Action At Clover Cup
March 10, 2022 | Women's Golf
Georgia begins tourney in Mesa on Friday
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ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia women's golf team will open play in the Clover Cup on Friday, competing in the same vicinity where the Bulldogs hope their season eventually culminates.
Notre Dame will host the 54-hole tournament at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz., approximately 30 miles from the Grayhawk Golf Club layout in Scottsdale where the NCAA Championships will be held in May.
Georgia finished 18th at the NCAAs last spring after sweeping the team and individual titles at the NCAA Columbus Regional and arriving in Arizona as a dark horse favorite to make a run at the national championships.
"When we were here for the national championships last year, I felt like we should've tried to get out here and see the golf course," head coach Josh Brewer said.
On Wednesday, the Bulldogs were able to do just that, playing Grayhawk before Thursday's official practice round at Longbow.
"Desert golf is different than Southern golf and it's different than Northern golf," Brewer said. "We probably didn't handle it last spring as well as we wanted. This year, with spring break and a tournament here, this gave us a chance to see Grayhawk and compete in a tournament on a a great golf course that's similar to Grayhawk. Longbow hosts an Epson Tour event, and it's a wonderful facility to compete on over our spring break."
Georgia's lineup will consist of Jo Hua Hung, Caterina Don, Jenny Bae, Isabella Holpfer and Caroline Craig. That's the same quintet that shot a school record 14-under effort in the second round of the Cougar Classic last fall and also captured the team title at the Illini Invitational.
"The lineup this week played together twice in the fall," Brewer said. "They finished fourth and set a school record for an 18-hole round at the first tournament of the year and also won at Medinah. They have really good karma together. This is their first time together this spring, and we're hoping they can play together like they did last fall."
No. 17 LSU is the top-ranked entry in the 17-team field, which includes five top-30 teams in No. 20 Texas A&M, No. 27 Kentucky, No. 29 TCU and the No. 30 Bulldogs. Rounding out the competing teams are Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado State, ETSU, FAU, FIU, Kansas State, Mercer, New Mexico, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.
Holpfer is back in Georgia's playing five after competing as an individual last week at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. She sports the Bulldogs' third-best stroke average this season at 73.25 over 20 rounds, with seven par-or-better loops.
"I'm really excited to be back and playing in the lineup," Holpfer said. "I think it will be a fun week in Arizona. Yesterday we were able to play Grayhawk, and I love that course."
Holpfer, a sophomore from Vienna, Austria, finished fifth individually at the Columbus Regional and contributed counting scores in two of three rounds at the NCAAs.
"Here (in Arizona) the grass is bent, but that's what I'm used to in Europe so it's not really that much of a difference for me," Holpfer said. "Other than that and that it's in the desert, I feel like it's not that much different than courses that I'm more used to. Obviously, instead of having trees or woods or water hazards on the sides, it's now desert and sand, but I don't feel like it's that much different.
"When we played Grayhawk last May, it got pretty windy," Holpfer continued. "That was a definitely a factor that we'll have to watch out for. It's definitely a bit warmer here than in Athens so it will be important to get your yardages correct because the ball might fly a few meters further."
The Bulldogs will be paired with LSU and Texas A&M for the opening round, teeing off every 10 minutes between 11:40-12:20. Live scoring will be available via www.golfstat.com.
ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia women's golf team will open play in the Clover Cup on Friday, competing in the same vicinity where the Bulldogs hope their season eventually culminates.
Notre Dame will host the 54-hole tournament at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Ariz., approximately 30 miles from the Grayhawk Golf Club layout in Scottsdale where the NCAA Championships will be held in May.
Georgia finished 18th at the NCAAs last spring after sweeping the team and individual titles at the NCAA Columbus Regional and arriving in Arizona as a dark horse favorite to make a run at the national championships.
"When we were here for the national championships last year, I felt like we should've tried to get out here and see the golf course," head coach Josh Brewer said.
On Wednesday, the Bulldogs were able to do just that, playing Grayhawk before Thursday's official practice round at Longbow.
"Desert golf is different than Southern golf and it's different than Northern golf," Brewer said. "We probably didn't handle it last spring as well as we wanted. This year, with spring break and a tournament here, this gave us a chance to see Grayhawk and compete in a tournament on a a great golf course that's similar to Grayhawk. Longbow hosts an Epson Tour event, and it's a wonderful facility to compete on over our spring break."
Georgia's lineup will consist of Jo Hua Hung, Caterina Don, Jenny Bae, Isabella Holpfer and Caroline Craig. That's the same quintet that shot a school record 14-under effort in the second round of the Cougar Classic last fall and also captured the team title at the Illini Invitational.
"The lineup this week played together twice in the fall," Brewer said. "They finished fourth and set a school record for an 18-hole round at the first tournament of the year and also won at Medinah. They have really good karma together. This is their first time together this spring, and we're hoping they can play together like they did last fall."
No. 17 LSU is the top-ranked entry in the 17-team field, which includes five top-30 teams in No. 20 Texas A&M, No. 27 Kentucky, No. 29 TCU and the No. 30 Bulldogs. Rounding out the competing teams are Cincinnati, Clemson, Colorado State, ETSU, FAU, FIU, Kansas State, Mercer, New Mexico, North Carolina, Notre Dame and Oklahoma.
Holpfer is back in Georgia's playing five after competing as an individual last week at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. She sports the Bulldogs' third-best stroke average this season at 73.25 over 20 rounds, with seven par-or-better loops.
"I'm really excited to be back and playing in the lineup," Holpfer said. "I think it will be a fun week in Arizona. Yesterday we were able to play Grayhawk, and I love that course."
Holpfer, a sophomore from Vienna, Austria, finished fifth individually at the Columbus Regional and contributed counting scores in two of three rounds at the NCAAs.
"Here (in Arizona) the grass is bent, but that's what I'm used to in Europe so it's not really that much of a difference for me," Holpfer said. "Other than that and that it's in the desert, I feel like it's not that much different than courses that I'm more used to. Obviously, instead of having trees or woods or water hazards on the sides, it's now desert and sand, but I don't feel like it's that much different.
"When we played Grayhawk last May, it got pretty windy," Holpfer continued. "That was a definitely a factor that we'll have to watch out for. It's definitely a bit warmer here than in Athens so it will be important to get your yardages correct because the ball might fly a few meters further."
The Bulldogs will be paired with LSU and Texas A&M for the opening round, teeing off every 10 minutes between 11:40-12:20. Live scoring will be available via www.golfstat.com.
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