BRUNSWICK, Me. – One weekend removed from setting a 36-hole team record in scoring, the Wesleyan women's golf team went out and beat that record by nine strokes on their way to a runner-up showing at the Polar Bear Shootout. Wesleyan shot 297-296-593 (+9) which was good enough for second place out of 14 teams, seven of which were NESCAC programs.
Just last weekend, the Cardinals shot 602 as a team at the Williams Fall Invitational to set a new 36-hole team record. Wesleyan went out and shot +297 (+5) on Saturday before wrapping up with a 296 (+4) on Sunday to finish in second place, seven strokes ahead of the third place finisher (Wellesley).
Wesleyan was the best team in the field on Par 3s, shooting +5 for the weekend with a scoring average of 3.13. The Cardinals also finished second-best on Par 5s, averaging 4.88 with a -6 score at the Brunswick Golf Course. As a team, Wesleyan totaled 24 birdies, 107 pars, and had the fourth-fewest bogeys and second-fewest double bogeys or worse.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was a trio who all finished +2 for the weekend including
Kayla Howell '26,
Amanda Phillips '28, and
Mia Rodgers '29. Both Howell and Phillips shot 74-74-148 while Rodgers went 76-72-148 with the 72 (-1) being the low round of the weekend for any Cardinal. All three finished in a tie for 11
th place out of 86 golfers in the field.
Consistent scoring for all three helped lead Wesleyan to the second place finish. Howell shot 36 (-2) on the front 9 on Saturday, including a eagle on the par 5 9
th hole, before coming back and totaling 13 pars on Sunday to go along with two birdies. Phillips was on fire to start her Saturday round, as the sophomore was -2 with three birdies through her first 11 holes, before finishing with a 74. She followed with three more birdies on Sunday with 12 pars to finish with another 74.
Rodgers started with 13 pars on Saturday, shooting 76 (+3), before the first-year had the round of the weekend, going for a 72 (-1) on Sunday. That Sunday round for Rodgers included three birdies and an eagle on the par 5 16
th hole. She scored par or better on the front 9, carding a 36 (-2) on Sunday.
Mia Holbrook '27 opened with a stellar 73 (Even) on Saturday in a round that featured a team-high five birdies, two of which came on Par 4s while the other three were on Par 5s. She followed with an 81 (+8) on Sunday to finish +8 overall for the tournament and in a tie for 22
nd place.
Rounding out the scoring lineup was
Grace Wu '29 who shot 79-76-155 (+9) to finish in a tie for 27
th place. Wu shaved three strokes off her round totals between Saturday and Sunday and her round 2 on Sunday included two birdies and 12 pars.
This signals an end to the fall season for Wesleyan but the Cardinals will be back in action later on this spring season with their first tournament expected towards the end of March.
