The BG women’s golf team will have the home-course advantage this weekend when they welcome 10 teams to Stone Ridge Golf Club to compete in the Falcon Invitational.
The 36-hole event will get underway at 9 a.m. Saturday with an 18-hole shotgun start. Play will conclude with a final 18 Sunday. In recent years, this annual home tournament has provided a shot in the arm for the Falcons, as evidenced by their third-place finish last spring and their victory in 2008. This season, with spirits running high after an improved performance at Eastern Kentucky, coach Stephanie Young’s squad is once again hoping to use the Falcon Invitational as a springboard to bigger and better things.
“Playing at home has definitely seemed to have a rejuvenating effect on our team,” Young said. “It’s always an advantage for the girls when they are able to sleep in their own bed the night before a tournament and then go out and compete at a course that they know well.”
The field this weekend will consist of 11 teams, with five coming from the Mid-American Conference. It is the largest overall field as well as the largest MAC representation in tournament history.
Young attributes the interest partly to the tournament being moved to the weekend but also to the increased stature of the event.
“This year’s tournament being on the weekend definitely helped draw a larger number of teams,” Young said, “But I also think it [the large field] has a lot to do with how the event is run. We think we conduct a first-class event on a very challenging golf course. I am thrilled to see that other teams apparently thought the same way.”
After an inconsistent start, Young believes that her team tapped into something very positive last week, and she is confident that the once-a-year opportunity to play in front of family and friends will further elevate the already-high spirits.
“Every time we tee-it-up, our team has tremendous pride to compete for Bowling Green,” Young said, “Those feelings are accentuated when we are at home, it is a very unique opportunity that not every school gets to experience. I think we are in for a special weekend.”
