COLUMBIA, Mo. – With the team's top three golfers all shooting an opening-round score of 75 or better, the Illinois State women's golf team had a strong start to play at the 2021 Johnie Imes Invitational, hosted by the University of Missouri.
ISU's opening-round 303 has the squad tied for seventh place in the field along with Northern Illinois. Host Missouri (284) has a 13-stroke lead on the remainder of the field, while Mercer (297), Wichita State (297), Little Rock (300), Oral Roberts (301), and Arkansas State (302), all sit ahead of the Redbirds and within striking distance for the final two rounds. Missouri State (305), Missouri's "B" squad (305), Eastern Kentucky (307), South Dakota (309), Bradley (311), and UAB (312) round out the 14 schools in the field.
Two Redbirds – Kehler Koss and Avalon Woodward – shot matching 74's on the round and are tied for 18th, while Ali Schrock shot a three-over par 75, which has her tied for 21st. Vinisha Gunaseelan carded an opening-round 80, which has her tied for 55th, as Maria Toledo Bailey withdrew from the competition because of a mid-round injury. Sophomore transfer Kira Wolf, playing as an individual, closed the day with an 80, eight-strokes over par, good for a tie of 55th in the field.
Koss' first six holes were a unique pattern, as she birdied her opening hole, followed that with a bogey, and then had a par on the third hole. Over the next three holes she repeated the order, with a birdie on the par-four fourth hole, a bogey on the par-four fifth hole, and a par on the par-five sixth hole. One more of each of the previous three scores – although in a different order – with a par and a bogey, before a birdie sent her into the turn at even par. She opened her back nine with back-to-back pars, before two consecutive bogeys to push her score to two shots over par. After a par she dropped a stroke with a birdie and gained it back with a bogey, before carding a par on her last two holes to finish with the two-over 74
Woodward opened with a par, before a double-bogey on the second hole put her two strokes over par. She got a stroke back two holes later with a birdie on the par-four fourth hole, before another bogey pushed her back to two over par. Two straight pars set the stage for her front-nine-ending birdie on the par-five ninth hole, making the turn at one shot over par. On the back nine she had four pars over her first five holes, with the one outlier of that group coming with a 12th hole birdie to even her score on the day. Back-to-back bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes pushed her to two shots over par, as she closed the day with two straight pars to finish with a two-over 74.
Schrock, a native of Pontiac, Illinois, had a bogey on her opening hole, before settling in over the final eight holes of the front nine with five pars, two birdies (the first on the par-four third hole and the second on the ninth hole), as she went into the turn at one stroke over par. Her back nine had five more pars, along with three bogeys and a birdie on the par-four 17th hole, finishing with a three-over 75.
Gunaseelan, the team's fourth scorer for the round, opened her day with four consecutive bogeys, but rebounded with four pars over her final five holes of the front nine, making the turn at five strokes over par. Two consecutive bogeys to open the back nine set the stage for her first birdie of the day on the par-three 12th hole. Two more bogeys were answered with a birdie on the par-five 15th hole, as she closed her round with an 80.
Playing as an individual, Wolf opened her day on the 10th hole, and had five pars over her first nine holes, making the turn at five shots over par. After opening her back nine with three straight bogeys, she closed strong, going even par over the final six holes, including a birdie on the par-five sixth hole (her 15th hole of the day), as she finished with an eight-over 80.
The 'Birds return to action tomorrow for the second of three days of competition at the annual event.
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