The Kent State women’s golf team struggled late and fell to seventh place in Minneapolis at the Minnesota Invitational on Monday.

The Kent State women’s golf team struggled late in the tournament, falling to seventh place. 

The Flashes played a nice first round to open their first tournament on the season, shooting 13-over-par with a total school score of 301; however, the team ran into trouble in the second round and shot 19-over-par with a total score of 307 to finish the first day.  

It was certainly a tough outing for the Flashes in the second round. On the last three holes, the team had a total of 10 bogeys.  

“I do think we got a little bit tired with the second of 18 holes,” coach Greg Robertson said. “We played good at times, but coming down the stretch, we struggled a little bit.”

East Carolina currently maintains a comfortable lead over second-place Purdue, leading them by 19 strokes at 5-over-par.

Kent State had a couple of players who stood out Monday. Freshman Wad Phaewchimplee sits tied for 12th place with a score of 5-over-par. Not too far behind, senior Jennifer Ha and junior Taylor Kim trail their teammate by one stroke at 6-over-par.

Robertson said he thinks Phaewchimplee, Ha and Kim are playing well enough to stay contention on the final day. He said staying focused will be key to how they perform Tuesday.

“I look for these three to improve off their first two days — their first two rounds — and work their way up the leaderboard, and I think they can,” Robertson said. “It’s about what kind of attitude and energy they’re going to wake up with (Tuesday) and take to the course. Finding that little bit of energy and having the right body language and making sure they are eating and drinking constantly on the golf course.”

Sophomore Raksha Phadke is tied for 55th place with a score of 15-over-par. Junior Maddy Mullins shot 6-over-par and is tied for 74th place in the second round, which was the only round she played in.

Mullins replaced senior Josée Doyon because she was having back issues and could not finish the first round. Roberson said the team flew Mullins to Minnesota early in the morning to compete in the tournament.

He said he thought Mullins played well in the tournament, considering the fact that she got on a plane at 4 a.m. and played a course she had never seen before.

The Flashes will complete the third and final round of the two-day tournament Tuesday morning. 

Contact Ray Strickland at [email protected].