Five Things to Know: Marilynn Smith Invitational

MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin women’s golf will to Lawrence, Kansas this Monday, Oct. 17 and Tuesday, Oct. 18 to compete in the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational hosted by the University of Kansas.

Here are five things to know before the Badgers tee off:

1. Last Time Out: Wisconsin last competed on Oct. 3-4 at the Barbara Nicklaus Cup in Dublin, Ohio, where the team recorded a +125 (337-321-330=989), placing them in eighth. Vanessa Ho led the Badgers and finished T14 at 26-over par (80-78-84=242), while freshman Alexia Siehl (+32, 84-84-80=248) placed 24th. Not far behind was Nicole Ciskowski (+33, 87-78-84=249) who finished T25. Rounding out the lineup for the Badgers was Emily Lauterbach (+35, 86-83-82=251) who ended T27 and Chloe Chan (+37, 87-82-84=253) who finished T29. 

2. The Course: The Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational is held at the Lawrence Country Club in Lawrence, Kansas and the course will be played as a par 72 and 6,125 yards. The course was completely renovated and re-opened back in September 2006. It is one of only two country clubs in the state of Kansas with bent grass tee boxes, fairways, and greens.

3. The Tournament: The Tournament is named after American professional golfer, Marilynn Smith, who was one of the thirteen founders of the LPGA in 1950. Smith was a former University of Kansas golfer and trailblazer for women in golf. The Badgers will play 36 holes on Monday starting at 8 a.m. CT. while Tuesday’s third round also starts at 8 a.m. CT.

4. The Field: Teams competing in the invitational are Kansas, Arizona, Boston College, BYU, Iowa, Kent State, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico State, Notre Dame, Sam Houston, Texas – San Antonio, Tulane, Washington State and Wisconsin. In the lineup for the Badgers are Vanessa Ho, Emily Lauterbach, Chloe Chan, Alexia Siehl and Gia Feliciano.

5. The Gallery: Fans can follow live stats on Golfstat.com and can follow live updates on Wisconsin at the @BadgerWGolf Twitter page.