It was a golf-packed week for the women’s golf team as they competed in the Diane Thompson Invitational in Iowa City, and then hosted the first home tournament for the Bradley women’s team.
Over Sunday and Monday, Bradley hosted their 5th annual Coyote Creek Classic at Coyote Creek Golf Club in Bartonville, IL. The course consisted of six opponents: Butler, Evansville, Prairie View A&M, Lindenwood and Oakland.
Going into the weekend, the women’s golf team’s main focus was confidence, something Morell tells her team daily.
“We’ve done a lot of work just focusing on our daily processes. Obviously, the result of the home tournament wasn’t what we wanted. We wanted to defend, but, um, we’re gonna learn from it. Everybody had some sort of positive that they can take away,” senior Caroline McConnell said.
Looking back on the tournament, the key takeaway was putting, as they were fighting it out with Butler on the green both days.
There’s always room for improvement, and finding where to build upon is important in a sport like golf.
“We worked on putting yesterday at practice … just some course management stuff that we constantly have to be working on … a lot of good positives, a lot of, you know, things [like] momentum, but also, you know, some things to refine before we go to Kansas State next week,” Morell said.
The Braves performed well as a team, and they all finished within the top half of the scores. Being a home tourney, the full roster had the opportunity to compete, rather than only bringing five or six girls on the road for away invites. Some player highlights are junior Jillian Cosler and McConnell, who’ve had great weeks of play and fought for the title.
“To have the entire team finish in the top half of the field was pretty cool … [shows] how deep our team is,” said Morell.
The first day of competition consisted of 36 holes. The Braves felt the home-course advantage, but not a fall weather advantage.
“It was super windy on day one. And that was another piece of the puzzle: we hadn’t seen that wind in a while. It’s more typical [to see that from] more spring wind,” said Morell.
Coming into round two, the women were adjusted to the weather and play with what they were working with. On the second day, the pins moved, and with that came the endurance to play through all 36 holes. The Braves put up five rounds under 75 and kept up the day with good scores.
“89 was the lowest score we’ve ever shot in the home tournament. So that was, again, another positive takeaway,” said Morell.
Being a senior, the Coyote Creek Classic was McConnell’s last home tournament. Performance, mindset, and course knowledge were at the top of the list for this weekend’s preparation and execution.
McConnell definitely felt the home-course advantage by knowing how certain hits were going to react off the green, being intentional about her play.
Familiarity with the course gave the Braves an upper hand. Coyote Creek is a challenging course to play on, and having the background of knowing where to hit distinct angles gives the team a sense of readiness compared to the other competing teams.
“I think just being comfortable with the shot, we know we need to hit on certain holes. We have that advantage. It doesn’t matter what clubs are in our hand,” said McConnell.
Going into the tournament, McConnell focused a lot on the mental side of the game. Building good habits; honing in on each hole, each swing, and each putt. The tournament theme was concentration and staying present by following the ball wherever it landed.
“Focusing on giving everything I have to each shot rather than worrying too much about what could happen, and just accepting the past and the future outcomes of a shot,” said McConnell.
McConnell played 18 great holes and birdied about two of the rounds. Hole eight is a drivable par four, which is fun for McConnell.
Altogether, the support the Braves and McConnell felt this weekend makes home tourneys like this fun for everyone competing and coordinating.
“It was great to see so many Bradley shirts out there following along,” said McConnell.
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