Oct. 1, 2012
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Columbia, Mo. — The University of Iowa women’s golf team is in sixth place after two rounds at the Johnie Imes Invitational, hosted at The Club at Old Hawthorne. Sophomore Shelby Phillips highlighted Iowa’s first day of play, as she recorded the first hole-in-one of her career during the second round. Iowa carded a team 36-hole total of 603 (+27) on Monday.
Having posted a 76 (+4) in her first round of play, Phillips struggled early in her second round, going four-over after six holes. She turned things around on the par-3, 16th, acing the hole with a 9-iron from 112 yards. Philips continued her strong play, as she birdied the next hole and finished the second round with 75 (+3). She is tied for 23rd place with a 151 (+7).
Phillips’ hole-in-one is the second ace for a Hawkeye in as many tournaments. Senior Kristi Cardwell sank her first career hole-in-one during the first round of the Dick McGuire Invitational two weeks ago. Three players have now recorded aces under head coach Megan Menzel at Iowa, as Lauren English had a hole-in-one during the 2011 fall season.
“I hit a good shot and there was a slope about 10 yards behind the hole,” Phillips said. “The ball hit the slope, stopped, and rolled back right into the hole. Coach Menzel was on the tee box with me and we both were pretty excited. It was fun to get my first one.”
“It was very fun to watch Shelby record the first hole-in-one of her career,” head coach Megan Menzel said. “It’s pretty exciting to have a hole-in-one in back-to-back tournaments.
“We played two solid rounds of golf today,” Menzel said. “I think we have positioned ourselves nicely going into the final round.”
Cardwell continued her steady play for Iowa and is tied for seventh place with a two-round mark of 145 (+1). The Kokomo, Ind., native posted an even par 72 in her first round, using three birdies to cancel out three bogies during a consistent opening round. Cardwell finished her first round shooting two-under on the final seven holes.
She kept up her solid play in the second round, carding pars on her first three holes before dropping a birdie on the 12th. Cardwell strung together five pars before a birdie on the 18th gave her a 34 (-2) on the back nine. She bogeyed four holes on the front, along with a birdie, to shoot a second round total of 73 (+1).
Sophomore Lauren English is tied with Phillips for 23rd place, also firing a 151 (+7). English finished her first 18 holes with a stretch of four straight pars. In total, English collected 12 pars and a birdie in her opening round.
English carded five pars and five bogeys in the first 10 holes of her second round, but a back nine tally of 34 (-2) led to a final score of 75 (+3). She dropped two birdies and seven pars on the back side.
Freshman Briana Midkiff is tied for 53rd place with a 156 (+12), carding two rounds of 78 (+6). She had a nine hole stretch at two-under, collecting seven pars and two birdies in her first round. She struggled on the other nine holes, shooting eight-over.
Midkiff played steady in her second round, with 12 pars and six bogeys.
After competing two times as an individual as a freshman last season, sophomore Nicole Rae made her debut in the Hawkeye lineup on Monday. The St. Charles, Ill., native is tied for 69th place with a 36-hole mark of 161 (+17). Rae struggled early in her first round, going plus-seven on her first eight holes. She settled down to shoot even par on her remaining 10 holes, carding two birdies, for a 79 (+7).
Rae shot an 82 (+10) in the second round, finishing with one birdie and seven pars.
Final round action at the Johnie Imes Invitational will begin Tuesday with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. (CT). Live scoring can be found at www.golfstat.com.