Hello Illini Nation!!

The team just got back from playing at the Meadow Club in Fairfax, California. This was the first time the team has played the course except for myself, as I was fortunate to play it once over the summer. I am originally from the Northern California area, so I was very excited to have the opportunity to come and play in the event!

We arrived a few days prior to the tournament, allowing us to have some quality practice time at Peacock Gap Golf Club. After our practice, we drove to my house in San Jose to visit my parents and have dinner! On our way we drove over and stopped to see the Golden Gate Bridge. The view was amazing and everyone enjoyed the walk on the bridge…especially Tristyn as it was her first time seeing and being on the bridge. Korean favorites were on the menu for dinner including Korean BBQ, my favorite chicken, and a few other dishes my mom made! Everyone really enjoyed the home cooked meal that included some favorites for everyone on the team.

Sunday, was the practice round where we were split up into two groups. Tristyn and I had the privilege to play in the college-am with two members, Mr. Corsiglia and Mr. Bjursten. We all thoroughly enjoyed the round and as a college-am team we finished 9 under par! During the round, we experienced every type of weather from heavy rain to hail to bright sunshine which was an interesting and fun experience. I had never played a round of golf in California while it was hailing! During the practice round we took many notes on the course layout and conditions as it was playing much softer than normal. This allowed us to be more aggressive with our strategies.

The first day of the tournament was a shotgun start and we played 36 holes. Interestingly for this tournament, we switched hole locations from round one to round two. It was smart for the tournament to change the locations since the greens were on the softer side due to the heavy rain in California. The weather was on and off with rain and wind throughout the day. The team fought hard and we finished third for the day. We put ourselves in good position for the final day. Our very own Swing and Jan put themselves in great position both sitting in the top 5 individually after the first day!

On day two of the tournament we continued our high, positive energy to finish the final round strong. As a team, we finished third and individually, Swing finished second and Jan came in fourth! It was an awesome tournament for these two and especially Swing with this being her best finish in her college career! The day was absolutely perfect with comfortable temperatures and the sun shining bright. After the tournament we went to Pier 39 (Fisherman's Warf) to do a little more sightseeing and have dinner before our red-eye flight back to Illinois. We even discovered a gift shop dedicated to left handers! As a left hander myself, I appreciated the entire store and bought some specialty left handed pens!

Overall, the trip was short and sweet! Our next two tournaments will be during our Spring Break, and we travel to South Carolina and Georgia.

Until next time Illini!!

Grace Park