The Kansas women’s golf team made it back-to-back tournament victories this week, putting a first-place finish at their home meet on top of a recent win in Colorado.
That’s already two wins for Lindsay Kuhle’s Jayhawks, who opened the season ranked 21st in the preseason polls and are gunning to climb much higher than that as the season rolls along.
• PHOTO GALLERY FROM MARILYNN SMITH INVITATIONAL •
The Jayhawks, who will head to the Bahamas for their next event later this month, won back-to-back tournaments for the first time since 2012.
KU was the only team under par at its home event — the Marilynn Smith Invitational played at Lawrence Country Club — and the Jayhawks, who finished 6-under as a team, out-performed second-place Missouri for the team title. The Tigers finished at 7-over par to take second.
Seven Jayhawks placed in the top 25 of the individual standings at the conclusion of the 12-team, three-round, two-day tournament, with senior Johanna Ebner (-3) and junior Amy DeKock (-3) finishing in a four-way tie for second place.
Senior Lily Hirst finished at 1-under and in a tie for seventh; senior Lauren Clark and junior Ruth Toennessen finished 4-over to tie for 16th; and underclassmen Anna Wallin (+6, tied 19th) and Lyla Louderbaugh (+7, tied 23rd) rounded out the top finishes for the home team.
Senior Jordan Rothman (+10, tied 27th) and ffreshman Lauren Madson (+18, tied 48th) also competed for the Jayhawks, with Rothman playing on KU’s A entry and Madson joining Clark, Wallin and Toennessen on the B entry, which finished in 6th place in the final team standings at +32.
In celebrating the Jayhawks’ latest win — before their post-tournament trip to Sylas and Maddie’s for ice cream — KU coach Lindsay Kuhle praised her players for their toughness, professionalism and play, while getting emotional when telling them how proud she was of who they are as people as much as players.
There was a lot of KU pride seen throughout the three rounds at LCC, with KU staff members, friends, family and supporters from other KU teams there to cheer on the Jayhawks to victory.
R1S1 Sports spent some time on the course both Monday and Tuesday, watching each of the players on KU’s A team go through their round.
Here’s a glimpse back at how each player approaches tournament-style golf.
Sophomore Lyla Louderbaugh
The long lefty from Buffalo, Missouri, carries herself with a lot of confidence even during whatever rough stretches she inevitably encounters.
She’s ultra-patient on the greens, quicker to take care of those short clean-ups after a near miss and tends to keep her body language to a minimum during the good times and bad.
While there are a variety of ways the players can track their rounds, Louderbaugh is quick to enter her stats from the last hole into an app on her phone, which no doubt provides her valuable insight into how she played and what adjustments she might need to make from round to round.
She’s talkative with her opponents when necessary, but, overall, tends to keep to herself, locking in on her shots, her game, her approach and what’s next.
This week at LCC: Round 1 – 75, Round 2 – 78, Round 3 – 70 (223)
Junior Amy DeKock
Despite her small stature, it was not uncommon for DeKock to be the longest hitter in her group. That meant a lot of waiting to hit her second shots, but that also gave her plenty of time to plan her attack.
Of the KU players we watched, DeKock consulted her personal yardage book by far the most, constantly writing notes and studying its contents to find an edge.
Along those same lines, DeKock seems to take advantage of every possible opportunity to learn about a shot – each putt, with her irons, long and short, and around the green.
While we watched her play, she had the added support of KU assistant coach Stephen Bidne walking with her and made sure to take advantage of his coaching. Especially on the greens.
The Palm Desert, California native also had the support of her parents throughout her three rounds, with her mom routinely clapping for her best shots and even waving the wheat with her daughter after birdies.
While so many of her teammates stay locked in with steely glares and competitive fire, DeKock carries herself with arguably the most joy of any player on the roster and looks relaxed for much of her rounds.
This week at LCC: Round 1 – 68, Round 2 – 71, Round 3 – 74 (213)
Senior Jordan Rothman
The South African standout who is no stranger to winning operates with a razor-sharp glare for most of her time on the course.
Rothman has moments throughout each round when she’ll allow herself to relax — usually while on long walks between one green and the next tee — but for the most part she stays locked in and does not deviate from her goal of winning every shot.
Kuhle called her one of the most competitive players she’s ever been around and that certainly shows up when you watch her.
She also thinks the game beyond the shot at hand. For instance, after hitting her approach to 4 feet on the par-4 14th hole in Round 1, she left her bag on the fairway on No. 15 and carried only her putter and driver to the green with her.
It might sound small, but when walking 36 holes at a hilly course like LCC, every opportunity to lighten the load can prove critical. That was one area all of the Jayhawks had an edge on the 11 other teams at LCC this week. But few took advantage of it quite like Rothman.
During those moments when she’s allowing herself to step away from the killer inside, Rothman is one of the most engaging players on the roster, taking time to smile, wave and even chat with people in the gallery around her. As soon as the pleasantries are finished, though, it’s right back to win-at-all-costs mode.
When Rothman is playing well, you can see her confidence growing in her body language.
This week at LCC: Round 1 – 76, Round 2 – 72, Round 3 – 78 (226)
Senior Johanna Ebner
Ebner, one of a handful of Jayhawks who hopes to play professionally when her college career is finished, tends to play with purposeful pace.
The native Austrian operates with a studious approach in both her actions and on her face.
No matter what type of shot she hits or what she scored on the previous hole, Ebner always seems to have that “we press on” attitude, moving quickly around the course from shot to shot and hole to hole.
It’s not a panicked approach, though. Rather, it looks as if it belongs to a golfer who has supreme confidence in her game and is always eager to tackle the next shot or challenge.
Ebner is best described as steady and she shows little emotion. But she has moments when she looks comfortable engaging with the gallery and also tends to light up a little when her coaches join her.
Using quality body language is a big emphasis of Kuhle’s and the KU programs, so it’s no surprise that so many Jayhawks possess this as one of their strengths.
This week at LCC: Round 1 – 73, Round 2 – 66, Round 3 – 74 (213)
Senior Lily Hirst
Another Jayhawk who hopes to play professionally, Hirst can best be described as having the happiest disposition of just about anyone on any course.
She just loves the game and loves to play and that shows up loud and clear in the way she gets around the course.
Here’s the great thing about Hirst’s game, though — she also has a switch she seems to flip when it’s her turn to hit.
One minute, she’ll be walking peacefully with a sly smile like a tourist in a park on a sunny day. And the next she looks locked in on the task at hand and ready to attack.
While the positive body language Kuhle emphasizes is generally from player to player, coach to player and round to round, to make sure the team collectively stays upbeat and positive, Hirst uses a little body language to will shots and putts to go where she wants them to go.
There was no better example of this than on the Huddersfield, United Kingdom native's birdie on No. 17 in Round 1, when she leaned hard to the left to make sure the ball caught the cup and fell in for the 2 on the picturesque par-3.
Simply put, Hirst looks very comfortable on the golf course and appears to be 100% in her element at all times.
This week at LCC: Round 1 – 70, Round 2 – 69, Round 3 – 76 (215)
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