The Barometer Online

Issue date: 11/3/09 Section: Sports

Curtis Barnard | THE DAILY BAROMETER Shown above is sophomore Whitney French playing in a tournament earlier this fall. The women's golf team has had nearly three weeks of preparation for the tournament in Hawaii.

By John Daly

The Daily Barometer

After nearly three weeks of preparation, the Oregon State women's golf team hopes to close the book on the fall season with a strong performance at the final event in 2009, the Turtle Bay Resort College Invitational in Kahuku, Hawaii.

The Beavers will battle 18 teams from around the West Coast, including Pac-10 rivals University of Oregon, University of Southern California, University of Washington and UCLA. In the team's previous tournament, OSU was the only school to represent the Pac-10.

Tournament action commences in the early morning today, and the Beavers can expect the unexpected in this final event of the fall season. The rare tournament format features three rounds of 18 holes split between two different golf courses. No member of the current lineup has played either course.

George Fazio, regarded as one of the most elite golf course designers in the business, designed the venue where rounds one and two will be played. The course designed by the infamous veteran Arnold Palmer is ranked among the top-100 public golf courses in the United States, and will host the final round on day three. The Fazio course measures 6,261 yards from the women's tees, and the Palmer course is only slightly longer at 6,361 yards. Par is set at 72 for both venues.

OSU's hot-handed junior Cara Freeman has emerged as the current scoring leader in the young 2009-2010 season and looks forward to playing the expert island courses.

"I enjoy playing Fazio courses," Freeman said. "They are more like links-style golf courses with big greens, open fairways, and lots of good breaks. If you play the slopes well, you can get creative with shots into the green."

The Beavers have been hitting the ball very well lately, and have only run into problems when very near the hole. The team ranks 21st in the country in birdies made and led last month's Price's Give 'Em Five Intercollegiate in the category.

That tournament was held in Las Cruces, N.M., and the Beavers rallied in the final round to finish alone in eighth place in the 18-team field. Freeman's final-round 73 was tied for team best with senior Lauren Archer's second-round 73, and the Beavers shed three strokes on the final day, escaping a potential 12th place finish.

Head coach Risë Lakowske and her players were disappointed in their finish at Las Cruces, and worked hard in preparation for today's fall season finale.

"We worked on course management, understanding which clubs to use, which shots to take, where to leave the ball and that sort of thing," Lakowske said. "It has been primarily short game work; we are not where we normally are with our up-and-down percentage. They are playing the par-fives very well, and that is where they are making most of the birdies."

Lakowske believes that her talented team can turn their season around and return to competing for tournament trophies, and sees no reason why that cannot happen in Hawaii. She held tournament qualifying last week, and the scores were lower than usual for her players who have been practicing the short game attack.

Representing the Beavers at today's ninth annual Turtle Bay Resort College Invitational will be Freeman, Archer, freshman Chelsey Lind, sophomore Whitney French and senior Brittany Stewart. Today marks Lind's first NCAA tournament appearance. The team is excited to see her play and is looking forward to her scoring contribution.


John Daly, sports writer

Sports@dailybarometer.com

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