Notre Dame will head down south this weekend for the LSU Tiger Classic, a tournament boasting nationally ranked competition. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the Irish will be up against No. 2 Auburn, No. 16 Oklahoma and No. 21 LSU, as well as ACC foes No. 13 Wake Forest, No. 17 North Carolina, No. 20 Duke and North Carolina State.
“I think it will be a good test for us,” Irish head coach Susan Holt said. “It’s that time of year where we need to see where we stand among the top teams in the country trying to prepare for NCAAs, so it’s a really good opportunity for us to play them head-to-head, at the same time and golf course with the same conditions, and see how we match up.”
Last weekend, the Irish came in fourth at the Clover Cup in Mesa, Arizona, which they hosted. The Irish stumbled in the first round of play, but managed to make up ground, ending with a team score of 10-over par 874 — 16 shots back of the winner SMU. Among the top performers for the Irish were senior captain Talia Campbell, who recorded her tenth top-10 finish of the season with an even par 216, and freshman Maddie Rose Hamilton, who closed out a strong final-round with a score of 69 to come in 17th place with a four-over par 220.
“We have five solid players and we just need at least four of them to show up every day, and we’ve done a pretty good job of that overall this year … and we just need to capitalize more on scoring opportunities that we present ourselves with,” Holt said. "We play close, but don’t convert all of the putts that we need to, so we just need to give ourselves more opportunities to score. If we can do that, then I think we are going to have a chance to contend come the final round.”
After last week’s performance, the Irish have had a week of practice and preparation to get ready for their biggest test yet.
“We just need to play three solid rounds, and the girls know that,” Holt said. “We didn’t get that done out in Arizona, but I feel good, especially in the fact that we got better each day and a couple of our players know the LSU course and have played it. We’ve got three freshmen in the lineup that will be there for the first time, but it's been that way for them all season with every course they’ve played, and they’ve been pretty quick to adjust and learn the golf course so I think we will be fine.”
The Tiger Classic will provide an important stepping stone for the team as the conference and national tournaments loom on the horizon. It will be the first times the Irish have faced multiple ACC foes at once, and Holt said it should serve as a good measuring stick heading forward.
“Every time we compete, it’s just gaining a little bit more experience — like I said, we have three freshmen in the lineup,” Holt said. “I think it will help us to see where we are at with the top teams in the conference there, so it is just a good test for us all around.”
The Irish will compete in the LSU Tiger Classic this Sunday through Tuesday.
