Valpo Women’s Golf Prevails in Dual Match

The Valparaiso University women’s golf team battled through heavy winds and unusual weather conditions to notch a dual-match victory over Grace College on Wednesday afternoon at Sand Creek Country Club in Chesterton, Ind. Junior Payton Hodson (Middleton, Wis. / Middleton) had the best score of the day for the Brown & Gold.  

How It Happened

  • Hodson led the 20-player field with a 77 (+5), battling through blustery conditions on the 5875-yard, par-72 course, comprised of the Marsh & Creek nines.
  • Golfing as an individual, Morgan Kier (Brownsburg, Ind. / Brownsburg) carded an 81 (+9) to finish second on the leaderboard.
  • Valpo prevailed 353-370 in the team scoring in a five-count-four scoring format.

Inside the Round

  • Kier made a nine-stroke improvement from her best round at this week’s Flyer Intercollegiate.
  • Hodson lowered her best score from this week in Lemont by six strokes despite playing in more challenging weather conditions on Wednesday.
  • Hodson came within three strokes of her personal-best 74, achieved during the second round of last year’s Dayton Fall Invitational (Oct. 15, 2019).
  • Hodson’s best work came on the par-36 Marsh nine, where she needed 35 strokes.

Thoughts from Head Coach Jill McCoy

“The conditions were extremely tough today. Payton Hodson had a phenomenal score of 77 with a one-under-par of 35 on the Marsh nine. Morgan Kier lit it up on the putting green with a lot of one-putts. While the scores weren’t the best, playing the way we did given the conditions was the confidence booster we need to help propel us into the spring.”

Up Next After three days of fall competition, the next time Valpo takes the course in a tournament setting will be the spring 2021 season