New Mexico Lobos Women’s Golf — The Farms Invitational
Where: The Farms Golf Club (Par 72, 6,270 yards) – Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
The Field (Golfstat rankings in parenthesis): [1] Oklahoma State (13) [2] Tennessee (15) [3] UNLV (18) [4] Pepperdine (19) [5] Arizona State (22) [6] San Diego State (24) [7] California (36) [8] Colorado (40) [9] Houston (49) [10] Kansas (52) [11] Long Beach State (65) [12] Boise State (73) [13] Michigan (80) [14] Nevada (104) [15] New Mexico (122) [16] UC Irvine (146)
Lobos: Alexandra Moisand, Manon Molle’, Eva Saulnier, Ingrid Gutierrez, Katerina Jaeger.
Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. — The main goal for Jill Trujillo’s New Mexico Lobos in 2015 is to defend their Mountain West title and return to NCAA play — which means work hard and get better.
Trujillo says the match-play format at The Farms Invitational sponsored by San Diego State might be a shot in the arm for her young Lobos – a team that features no seniors and no juniors.
The Lobos’ five-person roster consists of golfers from foreign soil where match play formats are not uncommon.
“In international golf, they play match play a lot,” said Trujillo. “These players have played a lot of match play events and they have that experience. There is a lot of excitement in a match play event.
“We are working on their mental game so they’ll be ready for conference.”
The collegiate tournaments usually are stroke play. You play 18 holes and that is your score on the day. The best four scores on a five-person team make up the team total for the day.
In match play, you are in a head-to-head battle with another golfer. You basically get a point for every hole you win. If you both shoot the same score on a hole, there is no point awarded. If you have won five holes and there are only four left, you win the match 5-4 (up five with four to go). If you are up two holes with one hole to play, you win 2-1. If you are tied going into No 18 and you win that hole, you win 1-up.
The matches obviously can go into extra holes and the first golfer to win a hole wins the match.
The Farms Invitational is going to this format as kind of a peek at the NCAA Championships. The NCAA women this year are moving to the same format as the men. You start off in a stroke-play format and the top eight teams advance to play match play.
The Farms Invite will have 18 holes of match play on Monday, 36 on Tuesday and 18 on Wednesday. The teams will be seeded with the winners advancing to play wiinners. If the seeding stays the same Sunday night, New Mexico (No. 15 out of 16) will face No. 2 Tennessee in Monday’s first round.
UNLV of the Mountain West is the No. 3 seed and San Diego State is No. 6.
“It’s been seven or eight years since we (UNM) have played in a match-play tournament,” said Trujillo. “It should be exciting and match play is fun.”
One of the best things about match play is when several of your golfers win big (or lose big) and then go follow a teammate who is in a close match. There can be a lot of excitement — and a lot of golfers — around a green.
“I think in match play you feel more like a team and there are opportunities to cheer on a teammate,” said Trujillo.
“The pressures in match play are different, but if you mess up a hole in match and maybe get a double-bogy, it only cost you one hole. You can come back. It’s also team against team.”
The Lobos left for San Diego on Saturday and will play a practice round on Sunday over the rolling hills of the 6,270-yard, par-72 Farms Golf Club. The course is officially in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., which is about 23 miles north of dowtown San Diego.
The Lobos’ team consists of Alexandra Moisand, Ingrid Gutierrez, Katerina Jaeger, Eva Saulnier and Manon Molle’.
The field for The Farms Invitational includes San Diego St., Arizona St., Tennessee, Pepperdine, Colorado, Kansas, Houston, Long Beach St., Boise St., Michigan, Nevada, Cal, Oklahoma St., UC Irvine and UNLV.