Buffs Start Spring Slate at Lamkin Invitational

BOULDER — The University of Colorado women's golf team starts its 2020 spring season, February 10-11, at the San Diego State Lamkin Invitational.

The Buffs will compete with seven other teams in a match play tournament at the par 72, 6,329-yard The Farms Country Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. San Diego State will host CU along with BYU, Cal State San Marcos, Central Arkansas, San Jose State, UC Irvine and Washington State.

"I think it (match play) is a great way to start off the spring and get our feet wet, get back in the competitive mode and hopefully have some decent weather to play some golf in," head coach Anne Kelly said. "We are excited to get going."

Colorado is excited to get the spring season going after a productive fall that saw three different athletes record top-10 finishes. Senior Kirsty Hodgkins recorded two as she was the runner-up at the Trinity Forest Invitational and tied for second at the Betsy Rawls Invitational. Sophomore Malak Bouraeda tied for third overall at the WSU Cougar Cup and redshirt sophomore Alisha Lau tied for ninth at the Molly Collegiate Invitational

The other four Buffs on the fall roster, junior Elle Otten, sophomore Kelsey Webster, and freshmen Sophie Johnson and Issy Simpson all saw valuable time in the line-up. This past January, CU also added another freshman to the roster, Ellie Gower.

"We gained a lot of experience in the fall and that will be useful for us in the spring," Kelly said. "We brought in Ellie Gower, who has a lot of international experience. Our international players play a lot more match play than we do in the states. I think that should help us as well that they have that match play experience and understand the differences between match play and stroke play."

It will be a quick turnaround to start the spring as the Buffaloes will play at The Rebel Beach Invitational in Las Vegas, February 17-18.

Having the first two tournaments of the spring a week apart will be good for the Buffs as they get back into competition. They only have two tournaments in February before playing twice in March. CU will head to Arizona for the UA Wildcat Invitational, March 9-10, and then over Spring Break, the Buffs will play the Anuenue Spring Break Challenge, March 23-25, at the Kapalua Bay Course in Maui.

The last regular season tournament will be CU's own Silverado Showdown, April 5-7, in Napa, Calif. Postseason play starts April 24 with the Pac-12 Championship.

"I am excited for the team," Kelly said. "I don't think we came close to our potential in the fall. It is a young team and now they do have some experience. You can't predict golf and I don't know but I think we have a chance to be a really good team and jump ourselves up in the rankings this spring. We will see. By the end of the spring it will be fun to see where we are and how we come along."

PRO UPDATE:
A pair of former Buffs competed at the LPGA Handa Vic Open in Victoria, Australia, Feb, 6-9. Robyn Choi finished tied for sixth after carding rounds of 70-65-77-71. Her 6-under 283 was just two strokes behind the winner, Hee Young Park, who shot an 8-under 281. Jenny Coleman tied for 26^th with a 1-under 288 (72-70-72-74).

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Players Mentioned

Malak Bouraeda

Robyn Choi

Ellie Gower

Kirsty Hodgkins

Sophie Johnson

Alisha Lau

Elle Otten

Issy Simpson

Kelsey Webster