Paulson leads Dutch in women’s golf spring break tourney
Central College
LITCHFIELD PARK, ARIZ.—Senior Sarah Paulson (Ottumwa) led Central College to fourth place in a competitive field at the women’s golf spring season opener in Litchfield Park, Ariz. Wednesday.
Paulson shot 81, finishing tied for ninth. Division II Grand Canyon University captured the team title with a score of 299 while its B team claimed runner-up honors at 320. Division I Bradley University (Ill.) placed third at 321 while Central tallied a score of 350. NAIA Arizona Christian University competed as individuals.
The Dutch hosted the one-day tournament at the Wigwam Golf Resort. The par-72 Heritage Course totaled 5,806 yards.
Following Paulson, Taylor Hill (freshman, Treynor) shot 85 and finished 18th. Kelsey Van Tasell (freshman, Pella) and Kaurie Kincaid (junior, Knoxville) both tied for 20th at 92. Ali Miller (senior, Davenport, North HS) rounded out the squad with a score of 96. Playing unattached, Ashley Smith (junior, Johnsburg, Ill.) placed 19th at 87 and Karissa Rempe (freshman, Pella) shot 101.
“For the first tournament of the spring things went pretty well,” coach Tim Wilkinson said. “We’re still working on finding our game and fine-tuning things, but there were a lot of positives to take away.”
Wilkinson said the Dutch had good outlooks.
“Our players did well handling adversity today,” he said.
The playing experience is invaluable.
“It’s good to play in a pressure environment,” Wilkinson said. “You can play 20 rounds but it won’t make a difference if it’s not in a competitive format. That’s something you can’t duplicate.”
The squad returns to action at the Washington (Mo.) Invitational March 31-April 1 at Gateway National Golf Links in Madison, Ill.
