By Hailey Amato
Staff Writer
“We play to win. We go into every tournament hoping to win.”
These words by sophomore Rachel Kyono, describe a shared goal of the close-knit Pepperdine women’s golf team. They continue a successful season by placing third in team standings at the Washington Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational, Oct. 9. The competition took place in Tacoma, Wash. at the Tacoma Golf and Country Club.
University of Southern California was the team winner, followed by host Washington.
“Any time your team finishes in the top five it’s pretty good,” Senior All-American Katherine Hull said. “We were in the leading group so we went head to head against the other leading teams. Our score wasn’t low enough to take it outright, but it was a good team effort.”
Competing in the Dick McGuire Invitational just the week before, the Waves had a difficult back-to-back schedule, but they didn’t let this affect their performance.
“We played well,” Head Coach Laurie Gibbs said. “Lindsey and Katherine played really solid. Our expectations are always high going into a tournament. Now we’re gearing up for Vegas.”
Senior All-American Lindsey Wright tied for individual medallist honors with a tournament score of five-under-par 214. Technically she won the tournament, but lost the trophy in a sudden death to University of Southern California’s Mikaela Parmlid.
“I started off slow,” Wright said. “I played well though. I was happy with my scoring. I especially played well the last day. I didn’t give up and I think that attributed to my success. Considering the technical changes I’ve been making it was really encouraging.”
Hull finished one shot back from Wright with a four under par 215 in a tie for third. Rachel Kyono, who tied for 27th, shot a 232 and freshmen Courtney Clark finished 45th with 240.
“The whole team played consistently,” Gibbs said. “They all hit the ball really solid. They putted well and were focused throughout the tournament.”
The course, a new one for Pepperdine, and the weather suited the Waves of Malibu. The course used in past years was hosting a PGA golf event.
“The course was great,” Hull said. “It was in good condition. Coming off New Mexico, it played a lot different. It was a little cold in the mornings, but I got used to it. Others had a little trouble. They’d be coming out in rain gear and I’d be in shorts and a T-shirt. It didn’t rain thankfully.”
Pepperdine took a slight break in practice. Back on the green, they are ready and determined to win their last tournament until the spring season.
“We want to play well,” Gibbs said. “We want to win. The field is going to be solid, but we have the best team there. We just need to play consistently.”
The Waves wrap up their fall season at the Las Vegas Founders Women’s Collegiate Showdown on Nov. 11-13 in Henderson, Nev.
Also in women’s golf action Pepperdine golfers Hull, Wright and Maria Cristina Arenas traveled to Kuala Lumpar, Malaysia, to participate in the 20th Women’s World Amateur Team Championships. In the closest finish in the event’s history, Hull and Wright led their homeland Australia to a tiebreaker win over Thailand. The competition was played at the Sayana Golf and Country Club.
“If I had one way to describe it, it would be a dream come true,” Hull said. “Ever since I was little, since I started playing golf, I wanted to compete for Australia. To win is even better. It was just a bonus really. We got off to a bad start, but Aussies are known for their comebacks and fighting to the end.”
It was the second time for Australia to win the title, the first time in 24 years. The tournament has been primarily dominated by the United States.
“There was a dry spell for the Aussies,” Hull said. “It’s nice to get the trophy back in Australia.”
Wright shot a final round one-under-par 72. She finished tied for second with Tania Eloseguie of Spain with a 72-hole score of 289, only one stroke off medallist Aree Song Wongluekiet of Thailand.
“All week I knew that our team finish was the main goal,” Wright said. “Winning as a team means so much more than winning as an individual. I was so excited that Australia won that I actually didn’t know I had finished second until a day after we finished playing.”
Hull finished fourth with two-under-par 290. She shot an even par 73 the final day. Pepperdine’s Arenas, competing for Guatamala, tied for 83rd.
Wright was a participant in the 2000 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship held in Germany where she finished sixth individually.
“This was my fourth international competition,” Wright said. “It was the most special by far. It was so good to represent Australia. When you are away from your country for so long something like this brings you home.”
Members of the Golf Australia team were there for support and encouragement as well as Hull’s family.
The event lasted 10 days, beginning with four days of practice rounds. The format of the tournament was 72 holes, with two of the three players’ scores counting each day for four days. The Australian team consisted of Hull, Wright and Vicky Ewlind.
The three got along well, according to Hull.
“Vicky is 26 so she was kind of before my era, but she’s an awesome teammate,” Hull said. “Team harmony makes such a difference in golf. It’s nice to have a team who bonded. That way, all we had to do was worry about golf.”
Wright had previous experience playing junior golf with Ewlind.
Ewlind played a crucial role on the team, breaking the tie on the last day of play. In a situation called a countback, the third score is compared between the tied teams and the team with the lower score wins. She shot a 5-over-par 78 to Thailand’s 8-over-par 81.
Temperatures of more than 95 degrees with almost 100 percent humidity couldn’t stop Pepperdine’s Aussies from sneaking up from behind to take the title. Characteristic of the Pepperdine team, Australia trailed after the first day, but consistently moved up in placing. At the end of the first day they were 20th, after day two they were fifth, and after the third day they were third. The last day of competition was grueling as Spain, Thailand and Australia battled it out for first.
Making up a three-stroke deficit to Thailand, Australia finished with a six-under-par 578 for the tournament and the title.
“For the first time in a while,” Hull said, “I walked off the course not thinking about how I did individually, but about how our team did. This was kind of like the Olympics of golf. It’s all about the team effort and I know how much it meant to golfers back in Australia. This is huge.”
October 24, 2002