The Wisconsin women’s golf team opened their season up in San Diego at the San Diego State Classic. This was a loaded field, including No. 1 ranked Stanford, No. 35 ranked UNLV and No. 48 ranked BYU. The Badgers finished eighth out of 12 programs competing, but Stanford, the winners of this event, beat out second place by 32 strokes, proving they are number one for a reason.
The Badgers had two separate golfers in the top 15, among over 60 individual golfers in the field. The Badgers’ lineup finished the tournament 28 over par. Every team in the field finished over par besides the winner, Stanford, who finished 31 under par.
The two Badgers in the top 15 were Chloe Chan and Vanessa Ho, both of whom shot 73-75-70, though Chan shot her 73 round in round one and Ho shot hers in round two, to finish the tournament four over par, tied for 13th. They are both seniors and the leaders of the women’s golf program.
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Chan has had a wonderful collegiate career, entirely at Wisconsin. She has accumulated two Academic All-Big Ten Honors, a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar and a Big Ten Co-Golfer of the Week award. Throughout her storied career, she has 12 top-25 finishes, including two so far this season. She also won the Westbrook Invitational last season, shooting 14 under par.
Ho has done well for herself, too, also entirely at Wisconsin. She has accumulated two Academic All-Big Ten Honors, two Big Ten Distinguished Scholar awards and two All-American Scholar recognitions. She’s finished top-25 in the two events she has played in this season, racking up a total of 11 top-25s throughout her career. She was also the runner-up at the FAU Paradise Invitational last season and a runner-up at the Indiana Invitational her freshman year.
Carly Carter is the last of the Badgers seniors to play at the San Diego State Classic, finishing the tournament nine over par in a tie for 31st. Carter has had an incredible start to her senior year, as this was the first event of the season she wasn’t in the top 25, finishing top 17 at the Badger Invitational, top 19 in the Schooner Fall Classic, top 2 at the Diane Thomason Invitational and top 25 at The Ally. She has eight top-25 finishes across her entire career and is well on her way to racking up even more for the Badgers before the season comes to a close.
Alexia Siehl, a junior, finished 15 over par in a tie for 46th. Including this event, she has finished in the top 25 in two of the five events she has played this season, top 19 at the Badger Invitational and top 19 at the Diane Thomason Invitational.
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The final Badger golfer to compete was Izzi Stricker, a true freshman. She finished the event 27 over par in a tie for 56th in the third event in her collegiate career.
Stricker debuted at the Badger Invitational last fall, finishing the event 16 over par in a tie for 41st. A Madison native, Stricker was a two-time Wisconsin Division 1 State Champion, the 2023 State Co-Player of the Year, a two-time First Team All-State, along with three Academic All-State Honors.
Some may recognize her last name, as she is the daughter of PGA Tour legend and current member of the PGA Tour Champions, Steve Stricker, who amassed 12 wins on the Tour and 18 on the Champions Tour. While on the Champions Tour, he has played in 76 events, making the cut 76 times.
Badgers women’s golf hits the links once again from Feb. 23-24 at the Westbrook Invitational, which takes place at the Westbrook Village Golf Course in Peoria, Arizona. Similarly, Badgers golfers will look to bounce back and dominate an event that historically bodes well for the Badgers.