Michigan
Ruth's Chris Invitational
This Week in Women's Golf: Ruth's Chris Invitational
10/12/2017 11:48:00 AM | Women's Golf
THIS WEEK
Fri-Sun., Oct. 14-16 -- at Ruth's Chris Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Live Scoring | UNC Finley Golf Course
On the Tee: Ruth's Chris Invitational
The University of Michigan women's golf team returns to action in the loaded field at North Carolina's Ruth's Chris Invitational. The Wolverines travel to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Friday through Sunday, Oct. 13-15, for the 54-hole event held at UNC's Finley Golf Club. With 12 teams in the 18-team field among the top 50 in the national rankings, the tournament will be one of the strongest tests of the season for U-M. The three-day event features 18 holes played each day. The Finley will be set up for a par 72 and 6,379 yards.
The Ruth's Chris Invitational Field
There will be 18 teams competing in the Ruth's Chris Invitational, including No. 1 Arkansas, No. 2 Alabama, No. 6 Duke, No. 9 Michigan State, No. 14 South Carolina, No. 16 Vanderbilt, No. 24 Virginia, No. 28 Wake Forest, No. 31 N.C. State, No. 34 North Carolina, No. 45 Ohio State, No. 46 Louisville, No. 53 Virginia Tech, No. 62 Iowa, No. 72 UNC Wilmington, No. 73 Michigan, No. 91 Tulane and DII perennial power Rollins College.
The Ruth's Chris Invitational Schedule
Wednesday, Oct. 11 -- Travel Day
Thursday, Oct. 12 -- Practice Round
Friday, Oct. 13 -- First Round (18), 8:51 a.m. (tee times off No. 1)
Saturday, Oct. 14 -- Second Round (18), 8:51Â a.m. (tee times off No. 1)
Sunday, Oct. 15 -- Final Round (18), 9:15 a.m. (shotgun)
The Michigan Lineup at Ruth's Chris Invitational
Michigan's starting five will be junior Elodie Van Dievoet, senior Emily White, freshman Ashley Kim, senior Megan Kim and senior Kathy Lim.
Michigan's History at the Finley Golf Club
• U-M made its first appearance at the Finley Golf Club in the program's first appearance in the NCAA Regional in 2001. The Wolverines finished 12th in the 21-team East Regional at 925 (308-308-309).
• During the 2005-06 season, U-M made a stop at the Finley Golf Club for a match-play event against UNC Greensboro, winning 5.5-3.5.
• U-M added two more appearances at the Finley Golf Club. In the 2012 Tar Heel Invitational, the Wolverines finished 18th with a 947 total and last season's 12th place showing at the 2016 Ruth's Chris Invitational with an 894 total.
WOLVERINE BITES
• Junior Elodie Van Dievoet has followed up her breakout sophomore season with solid play this season. She leads U-M with a 72.80 per round average through two events, which includes a season-low 69 (-3) in the first round of the Golfweek Conference Challenge. She has back-to-back top-15 finishes, tying for 15th in stroke play qualifying at the East & West Match Play Challenge and tying for 11th at the Golfweek event.
• Senior Emily White has begun her senior season in style, posting an early 73.20 per-round average, more than two shots better than any of her previous three seasons. With her mature play, she led U-M in stroke play qualifying at the East & West Match Play Challenge, tying for seventh and stringing together three straight rounds of 74 to tie for 26th at the Golfweek Conference Challenge. Since midway through her sophomore season, she has not missed an event, starting 20 straight.
• Freshman Ashley Kim has started the first two events of the season and has shown she belongs, as she has posted a 75.220 per-round early average. She posted a career-best 72 (E) in the opening round of the Golfweek Conference Challenge and is expected to make her third straight start in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
• Senior Megan Kim and freshman Ashley Kim are the fourth pair of sisters to play for the Maize and Blue. They join the Bauers (Ashley, Meghan and Shana), the Davises (Lindsay and Katelin) and the McCorkels (Tiffany and Tegan).
INSIDE THE MAIZE AND BLUE
• Michigan has made back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances and advanced to the NCAA Finals the last two seasons. U-M had only one prior NCAA Finals appearance, in 2002, finishing 17th. The Wolverines tied for 18th in 2016 and followed with a tie for 16th in 2017.
• In just four seasons under coach Jan Dowling, U-M has posted two fifth-place finishes at the Big Ten Championships -- 2015 and 2017. Prior to Dowling's arrival, U-M had recorded just eight total top-five finishes at the conference tournament. In fact, Dowling's squad narrowly missed a third top-five in 2016 when it finished sixth.
• Elodie Van Dievoet had a remarkable 2017 postseason for the Wolverines. After winning the Big Ten individual title, her dramatic 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at the Columbus Regional helped send U-M to the NCAA Finals for a second straight season and give her a top-10 individual finish (t-9th). In the finals, she recorded the highest individual finish for a Wolverine, tying for fourth, while pacing U-M to its best finish at the championships, a tie for 16th.
• Van Dievoet became the ninth Wolverine to earn All-Big Ten first team honors and gave U-M back-to-back seasons of first team selections after former Wolverine and recent graduate Grace Choi (2014-17) earned the accolade in 2016. Throughout U-M's history, 13 players have garnered All-Big Ten honors, with nine first-team accolades.
NEXT ON THE TEE
• Fri-Sun., Oct. 27-29 -- Landfall Tradition (Wilmington, N.C.)
• Sun-Tue., Feb. 11-13 -- Lady Puerto Rico Classic (Rio Grande, P.R.)
Players Mentioned
