COLUMBUS, Ind. - Junior golfer Elise Swartout recorded the best tournament finish of her
collegiate career, tying for second at the 2009 Indiana University
Invitational at Otter Creek Golf Club, to lead Western Michigan over
the past two days. This marks her fourth career top-10 finish, the second in the past three events and the second top-five finish of her career.
The total for Swartout's first two rounds of the tournament was 150, which was one stroke better than her previous 36-hole career low. That mark was good enough to sit alone in third place after Monday's rounds. She led the field by a stroke after the opening 18 holes on Monday.
"I was not aware of my where I stood on Monday during the rounds or today. Coach [Trout] told me I was leading at one point today. II don't like to know what I shoot while in the middle of a tournament. It is one shot at a time and I can't control the shot I just took or anyone's score for that matter," commented Swartout in the van on the way back to campus after Tuesday's round.
Swartout's second-place finish was one spot better than her previous career-best finish, which was third at the 2008 Red Rocks Invitational. Her 54-hole score of 229 is four off her career low of 225, which she has achieved twice with the last time coming in this year's Duramed Collegiate Invitational at Rio Verde.
"I struck ball solidly this week and going 13-for-20 in up and downs was a huge factor to my success. The playing conditions were not ideal to say the least but I was happy with my play. It showed me where my game is at. I had the taste of leading a tournament and hopefully I can continue to play at a level where I can experience that again in the upcoming tournaments."
The conditions were challenging, to say the least, with Monday's temperature reaching a high of 40 with a wind chill below 30. The field of 84 golfers grinded through rain, snow and sleet on Monday and wind gusts of 40 miles per hour on Tuesday. Western Michigan held on for a 12th-place finish as UNLV captured the team title and the Runnin' Rebels' Natasha Krishna claimed medalist honors with her four-stroke margin of victory over Swartout, teammate Therese Koelbaek and Texas' Kelley Louth.
Western Michigan has its last tune up before the 2009 Mid-American Conference Championships when the Broncos return to Indiana for the Ladies Midwest Shootout in West Lafayette on April 11.
Bronco Individual Results
T-2nd, Elise Swartout - 74-76-79=229 (+13)
T-48th, Britney Hamilton - 91-80-77=248 (+32)
75th, Katrina Templar - 92-84-90=266 (+50)
T-76th, Stephanie Koske - 92-91-84=267 (+51)
82nd, Maria Demarco - 95-85-94=274 (+58)
