Kansas women's golf releases 2019-20 schedule
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas women’s golf team opens up its 39th season with a competitive schedule for the 2019-20 campaign, beginning at the Minnesota Invitational for a fourth-straight year.
Head coach Erin O’Neil begins her 15th season at the helm of the program and she is looking forward to the type of competition the women’s golf team will face early on.
"I’m very excited about our schedule for this year."
Erin O'Neil, Head Coach
“I’m very excited about our schedule for this year,” said O’Neil. “It will provide us with a great opportunity to play against solid teams on courses that have hosted or will host NCAA events such as Florida and Louisville’s home courses. Being able to play on these types of courses gives our players invaluable experience that will help prepare them for postseason play down the road.”
While playing in one of the most competitive women’s golf conferences in the country, O’Neil is hoping that playing on familiar courses will help give her team an advantage going into this season and into a tough conference tournament.
“We are returning to some of the same tournaments from last year and hopefully having familiarity with the courses will give us added confidence going in to each event,” said O’Neil. “This schedule gives us a tremendous opportunity to play on a multitude of grasses such as Bermuda, Zoysia, and Bent, along with challenging layouts, all of which are elements that we may need to learn how to handle so that we are ready for anything we may face at the Big 12 Championship and NCAA events.”
The 2019-20 schedule opens up in Woodbury, Minnesota at the Minnesota Invitational on Sept. 9, where Kansas finished with an eighth place tie last year.
The next weekend the Jayhawks find themselves in rival territory while taking on Big 12 foe Kansas State at the Sunflower Invitational (Sept. 15-16) in Manhattan, Kansas.
After the early conference competition, KU will round out the month of September at the Lady Paladin Invitational in Greenville, South Carolina (Sept. 27-29), where the Jayhawks finished with a fifth place tie during the 2018-19 season.
Kansas competes in two tournaments during the month of October, first at the Palmetto Invitational (Oct. 13-15) in Kiawah Island, South Carolina where KU finished in third place a season ago.
KU wraps up the month of October and the fall season at the Louisville Cardinal Cup (Oct. 18-20) in Louisville, Kentucky.
Kansas faces Louisville again once the spring season begins on February 17 in Melbourne, Florida for the Moon Golf Invitational that is also hosted by the Cardinals. Last season, KU finished in 11th place at the same event.
The month of March is a very competitive one, as the Jayhawks compete in three tournaments. KU first faces off against Florida at the Lady Gator Tournament (March 7-8) in Gainesville, then at the Briar’s Creek Invitational (March 16-17) in John’s Island, South Carolina, and then wraps up the month at the Clemson Invitational (March 27-29) in Sunset, South Carolina.
Kansas finished in a tie for eighth place at the Briar’s Creek Invitational last season and looks to improve on that mark this year.
Leading up to the Big 12 Championship, Kansas competes in the Mercer Brickyard Collegiate (April 6-7) hosted by Mercer in Macon, Georgia.
The conference tournament takes place April 24-25 and will be hosted in Dallas, Texas.
The most important thing that O’Neil hopes her players gain from the competitive schedule is experience and both personal and athletic growth.
"Hopefully by the completion of the season our players will develop their games and mindsets so that they can handle whatever comes their way and thus be better than when the year started. "
Erin O'Neil, Head Coach
