Monday Cardinal Couple -- Women's Golf has their work cut out for them

MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE

- ACC GOLF NO EASY BIRDIE

( DAVID WATSON HAS THE MONDAY CARDINAL COUPLE EDITION FOR US AND HE
REVIEW JUST WHAT LIES AHEAD FOR COACH COURTNEY TRIMBLE AND THE UOFL WOMEN'S GOLF SQUAD IN THEIR FIRST ACC SEASON )

This is no chip and putt for an easy birdie -- this entry into ACC women's golf. Nine of the eleven team that participated in ACC women's golf last year made the NCAA Tournament. Duke, the ACC Tournament winner, won their sixth NCAA title by defeating USC by two strokes.

Golf on the collegiate level works a little differently than some of the other sports offered by schools. There is no one-on-one, home and away sequence against an opponent. Teams travel to play in Invitationals, or Championships or Challenges and often the number of teams involved is sixteen or more. 

You may see a conference opponent or two during the regular season...but won and loss record means very little. Where you finish in the pack and how well you do in the season ending Conference tournament decides if you get to the NCAA Regionals. You need to finish in the upper portion of those regional contests to gain admission to the NCAA Championships. 

Louisville won the AAC Tournament last season and made the NCAA Regionals. The Cards did not advance out of regional play, though.

They weren't even close.

Louisville returns a good group of golfers but they will be challenged to pick up their skill and scoring ability to even be considered as a team in the top half of the ACC. The Cards do return eight of their nine golfers from last season...so experience is a plus but Louisville participated in the NCAA Regionals in Tallahassee, FL. this spring (guess who is in the ACC from that city?) and was 40+ strokes behind the eventual winner. 

40 strokes over three days with four golfers isn't that big a deal. A missed putt here, bogey instead of par or bouncing into the trap instead of onto the green equates out to each golfer improving their game by three strokes per round to be in the thick of things. 

Golf is a unique game that requires intense mental concentration, great physical shape and the repetition of a series of routines 70-80 times over a five-hour period. 

Sara Hammond, for comparison's sake, may grab 10 rebounds, make 10 of 13 shots, commit three turnovers, and go to the line seven times.

That's a busy game -- but her 33 "stat grabbers" are still less than half the chances than those of a golfer.

Paulie and Worldwide Jeff discuss the challenges of Louisville Lacrosse, Field Hockey and Soccer in this new conference. 

Add women's golf to the list, gentlemen.

David Watson.  

Louisville Women's Golf Roster

NAME HT CL HOMETOWN (PREVIOUS SCHOOL) Haley Andreas 5-10 RS JR Pacific Grove, Calif. (Arizona) Shannon Gramley 5-6 FR Sharon, Pa. (Shady Side Academy) Emily Haas 5-6 JR Nicholasville, Ky (West Jessamine HS) Sara Karlsson 5-8 RS JR Myggenas, Sweden (Polhemsgymnasiet) Emily Kurey 5-3 FR Alpharetta, Ga. (Centennial HS) Louise Oxner 5-6 FR Greenville, S.C. (Greenville HS) Katie Petrino 5-6 RS JR Fayetteville, Ark. (Fayetteville HS) Laura Restrepo 5-7 SO Panama City, Panama (Heritage Academy)