The good news for the Irish is the remainder of their schedule does not feature a level of competition as rigorous as last weekend's Tar Heel Invitational.
The Irish struggled with a last-place finish in a tournament featuring 13 teams ranked in the top-25 of the most recent Golf World Coaches Poll.
The team will look to recapture the success that made last season the best in program history at the Indiana University Fall Invitational in Carmel, Ind. on Oct. 17.
At the Tar Heel Invitational, the Irish finished 45-over par, which left them in 18th place. No. 3 LSU, the highest-ranked team entering the tournament, finished in first place at 8-under par.
"It was not a good overall team performance," Irish coach Susan Holt said. "We have to compete better at a higher level and have been beating ourselves far too much."
Senior captain BeccaHuffer led the Irish as she placed tied for 50th shooting 8-over par for the three round tournament.
Meanwhile, freshman Ashley Armstrong finished one stroke behind Huffer at 9-over par.
The 54-hole IU Fall Invitational will be played in only two days, with golfers playing 36 holes on Monday and the remaining 18 on Tuesday.
"Our ball striking has been good [in both of our tournaments]," Holt said. "Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find the hole [in a low number of strokes]."
The tournament will be played at Crooked Stick Golf Club,
near Indianapolis. The par-72 golf course recently hosted the U.S. Senior Open in 2009 and also served as the site of the 1991 PGA Championship.
Huffer's familiarity with the course may work to Notre Dame's benefit as the senior played at Crooked Stick in a U.S. Women's Amateur event in 2010.
"Becca's a very solid player, and possesses the capability to [score] low on any given day," Holt said regarding her senior captain.
Following the IU Fall Invitational, the Irish conclude the fall portion of their schedule with a return trip to North Carolina from October 28-30 for the Landfall Tradition hosted by the
University of North Carolina-Wilmington.
Contact Matt Unger at munger3@nd.edu
