Monday, September 9
Dallas, Texas
All Day
Colorado
vs
First Two Rounds
Sophomore Malak Bouraeda
Photo by: Tony Harman
Women’s Golf Opens Season At Trinity Forest Invitational
September 08, 2019 | Women's Golf
BOULDER — With the start of another school year comes the start of another athletic season and the University of Colorado women's golf team will kick off its fall schedule Monday, Sept. 9, at the Trinity Forest Invitational in Dallas.
This will be the third year the Buffs play in the two-day tournament and are very excited to get the season going.
"It's a great golf course," head coach Anne Kelly said. "It's much different than any other golf course we play. They play a PGA tournament there; it's more of a links style. It's hard. It's a challenging course. But the players like it, they like the challenge.
"The field is competitive. It's not a large field, I think there are about 12 years, but with Baylor, Oklahoma State and of course SMU on their home course, there are some very competitive teams."
CU will be looking to improve from last year, in particular the spring, as they struggled after the departure of Robyn Choi, who left early to pursue a career on the LPGA Tour.
"It's hard because I don't really know what to expect," Kelly said. "Having Alisha (Lau) back is like having a new player. I think the freshmen will help us a lot and the work the younger players put in, they should be better. Kirsty (Hodgkins) did not play her best last year either, but has been working very hard and I think she is ready to go as well."
Hodgkins is the lone senior on the team, but she is no stranger to a leadership role as CU's No. 1 and No. 2 player the last couple of seasons.
"She leads more by example and just how competitive she is," Kelly said. "She is really determined and excited about this year, which is great to see in a senior. I know she has been working hard this summer. She is coming off a very good tournament representing Australia at the Astor Cup, so I'm excited to see what she does, although I am sad and can't believe she is already a senior."
Another key player from the 2018-19 team is sophomore Malak Boureada. She made a lot of improvements as a freshman just from the fall to the spring and had a nice summer of training.
"Malak had some good tournaments as a freshman and it looks like she worked hard over the summer," Kelly said. "She still has some things to work on like everybody does, but she is a big important part of our team for sure.
Two other key returners include junior Elle Otten and sophomore Kelsey Webster. Both were able to get valuable time in the line-up last spring without Choi and Alisha Lau out due to injury.
"Last semester was tough without Robyn and Alisha, but it did give the younger players good experience playing in a lot of tournaments," said Kelly. "I know they both seem to have worked hard this summer and are ready to go. It's just a matter of managing nerves and expectations. Both of them have to be a little more consistent for us."
Lau has been working hard to come back this fall. She played in several tournaments this summer and is looking to be a big part of the team in her redshirt sophomore season, much like she was in her freshman campaign.
"Alisha did qualify for the line-up for the first tournament and we are definitely looking forward to having her back," Kelly said. "After a year of not having her, you kind of forget how good of a player she is. So hopefully her health issues are all manageable and she can play for us. It's a tournament to tournament call."
With the departure of last year's seniors, comes the arrival of a pair of freshmen, Sophie Johnson and Issy Simpson. Both are looking to make a big impact on the team this year. Johnson already earned a spot in the starting line-up for CU at the first tournament of the season.
"Going through the first qualifying, Sophie won it, which is really exciting to have a freshman win the qualifying on three courses she had never seen before," said Kelly. "She looks like she is playing solid. Issy struggled a little bit, but I think she is going to be a good player for us. I think it is just a matter of getting used to things and settling in. I'm really happy to have both of them on our team."
This will be the third year the Buffs play in the two-day tournament and are very excited to get the season going.
"It's a great golf course," head coach Anne Kelly said. "It's much different than any other golf course we play. They play a PGA tournament there; it's more of a links style. It's hard. It's a challenging course. But the players like it, they like the challenge.
"The field is competitive. It's not a large field, I think there are about 12 years, but with Baylor, Oklahoma State and of course SMU on their home course, there are some very competitive teams."
CU will be looking to improve from last year, in particular the spring, as they struggled after the departure of Robyn Choi, who left early to pursue a career on the LPGA Tour.
"It's hard because I don't really know what to expect," Kelly said. "Having Alisha (Lau) back is like having a new player. I think the freshmen will help us a lot and the work the younger players put in, they should be better. Kirsty (Hodgkins) did not play her best last year either, but has been working very hard and I think she is ready to go as well."
Hodgkins is the lone senior on the team, but she is no stranger to a leadership role as CU's No. 1 and No. 2 player the last couple of seasons.
"She leads more by example and just how competitive she is," Kelly said. "She is really determined and excited about this year, which is great to see in a senior. I know she has been working hard this summer. She is coming off a very good tournament representing Australia at the Astor Cup, so I'm excited to see what she does, although I am sad and can't believe she is already a senior."
Another key player from the 2018-19 team is sophomore Malak Boureada. She made a lot of improvements as a freshman just from the fall to the spring and had a nice summer of training.
"Malak had some good tournaments as a freshman and it looks like she worked hard over the summer," Kelly said. "She still has some things to work on like everybody does, but she is a big important part of our team for sure.
Two other key returners include junior Elle Otten and sophomore Kelsey Webster. Both were able to get valuable time in the line-up last spring without Choi and Alisha Lau out due to injury.
"Last semester was tough without Robyn and Alisha, but it did give the younger players good experience playing in a lot of tournaments," said Kelly. "I know they both seem to have worked hard this summer and are ready to go. It's just a matter of managing nerves and expectations. Both of them have to be a little more consistent for us."
Lau has been working hard to come back this fall. She played in several tournaments this summer and is looking to be a big part of the team in her redshirt sophomore season, much like she was in her freshman campaign.
"Alisha did qualify for the line-up for the first tournament and we are definitely looking forward to having her back," Kelly said. "After a year of not having her, you kind of forget how good of a player she is. So hopefully her health issues are all manageable and she can play for us. It's a tournament to tournament call."
With the departure of last year's seniors, comes the arrival of a pair of freshmen, Sophie Johnson and Issy Simpson. Both are looking to make a big impact on the team this year. Johnson already earned a spot in the starting line-up for CU at the first tournament of the season.
"Going through the first qualifying, Sophie won it, which is really exciting to have a freshman win the qualifying on three courses she had never seen before," said Kelly. "She looks like she is playing solid. Issy struggled a little bit, but I think she is going to be a good player for us. I think it is just a matter of getting used to things and settling in. I'm really happy to have both of them on our team."
Players Mentioned
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