Buffs To Finish Fall Slate At Pac-12 Preview

BOULDER — The University of Colorado women's golf team will wrap-up its fall schedule this week at the Pac-12 Preview in Kailua Kona, Hawai'i.

The tournament will be played at the Nanea Golf Club, a par 73, 6,372-yard course. All 12 Pac-12 programs will be in attendance and results will be available here.

The Buffs have been playing short-handed for the last two tournaments while junior Robyn Choi played in the LPGA Q-Series, but Choi is hopeful she will be able to return to the line-up on Monday, Nov. 5.

"Robyn may be back in the line-up if things work out and she can make the flight from North Carolina to Hawaii," head coach Anne Kelly said. "She really wants to come back and support her team."

While Choi was playing at the Q-series, Buffs have played without her, but it hasn't been all bad as Kelly has been able to work some younger golfers into the lineup.

"Not having Robyn (Choi) has given us the chance to give the younger players a lot of experience," Kelly said. "Especially players like Elle Otten, she's really going to turn into a great player. She struggled with that golf course (at the Trinity Forest Invitational) but it's a really hard course."

Colorado finished fourth at the Trinity Forest Invitational last week, recording a 32-over 896 (299-294-303), and were led by junior Kirsty Hodgkins who tied for fourth with a 2-over 218 (75-72-72). The finish was a good improvement from last year when CU tied for sixth with a 48-over 913 (306-303-304). Choi was the highest finisher for CU with a 9-over 225 (73-77-75). Kelly was very happy with the strong showing from the young team.

"I was pleased the team we took this year did better than last year," she said. "That tells me that everyone is getting better. If we do have our full squad back (for the Pac-12 Preview), then it will be fun to see what happens. It's been different than what we expected, but I'm very thankful for it because it's giving all of these younger players a lot of experience."

The Nanea Golf Club course is another challenging one like the last one CU played on at the Trinity Forest Invitational with similar greets and a similar layout, but several of the Buffs have seen the course from previous years, which should help.

"Kirsty has played it and played it well and Gillian (Vance) has played well there," Kelly said. "Haley (Nist) played there for Oregon State so she's familiar with the course."

Overall, Kelly likes what she has seen from her team this fall as they are hanging in to qualify for regionals this spring.

"We're trying to hang in there because the whole year counts for regionals," Kelly explained. "We're not in as much of a comfortable position as I would like but the fact that we're still in the race is really a tribute to the girls on the team and how hard they're working."

ROBYN CHOI UPDATE: With Choi's 45^th place finish at the LPGA Q-Series, she earned LPGA status for 2019. If desired, she could postpone her professional career until the end of the 2019 NCAA spring season. No official decision has been made at the time of this release.

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Players Mentioned

Kirsty Hodgkins

Elle Otten