The women’s golf team completed its third tournament of the fall season last week at the Red Raider Invitational. 

The team finished in a tie for third place at 26-over par while Maddi Kamas, senior from Ardmore, Oklahoma, finished eighth, and Julia Vollmer, sophomore from San Antonio, finished ninth. 

Through the first two rounds of the tournament, the team was nine-over par, but on a windier final day of the tournament, it recorded a 17-over performance. 

“The wind blew really hard on the second day,” Head Coach Rob Bennett said. “The only team able to handle it was Texas Tech, the home team.” 

Despite the windy conditions, Bennett was pleased with the resiliency and lack of panic the team displayed. 

On the first day of the tournament, the Wildcats only had one hole with a score of double bogey or worse, four less than the next lowest team total. 

“That just shows our patience,” Bennett said. 

Vollmer, along with the team’s hot start, was even through the first day. She eagled hole number eight while bogeying holes five and 11. 

“I played well in that event last year,” Vollmer said. “I just tried to enjoy it as much as I could and just be grateful to be out there.” 

In her second round, Vollmer carded four birdies and nine pars to finish round two at one-over par. The third and windiest round of the tournament was a six-over showing for Vollmer, rounding out her tournament at 223 strokes. 

“I didn’t play as well as I’d like to in my last round,” Vollmer said. “Overall, I can’t be too upset about how I performed.” 

Kamas, after finishing eighth individually at five-over par, carded seven total birdies through the three rounds. In addition to her performance on the course, Kamas has provided the team with an additional source of leadership and experience after the team was one of the youngest in the Western Athletic Conference in the spring. 

“She’s come in with a lot of knowledge,” Vollmer said. “She provides a lot of stability and brings a great mindset.”

The Wildcats will start their final fall tournament on Oct. 6. The two-day tournament will be hosted by the University of Oklahoma at Prairie Dunes Country Club. 

Prairie Dunes, a consistently top-rated golf course in the country, will provide a good balance of challenging course management with or without windy conditions. 

“Par at that golf course is always going to be really good,” Bennett said. “If we can chip it and putt it well, along with all the good things we do striking the ball, I think we’re going to have a chance to shock some really good teams.”

Despite the Wildcats playing against large schools in nearly every tournament they compete in, Bennett and the team are confident that the name on the golf bag or hat has no effect on the team’s performance on the course. 

“It’s one of our standards for our team,” Bennett said. “We belong in any field on any day.”