Badgers Tee Off at Big Ten Championship
April 23, 2004 | Women's Golf
The Wisconsin women's golf team will begin its run for the conference title on Friday morning at the 2004 Big Ten Championship. The tournament is hosted at the par 72, 6,201-yard OSU Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio.
The 11 conference teams will play 36 holes on Friday, 18 on Saturday, and a final 18-hole round on Sunday. Live scoring and stats can be viewed at www.golfstat.com when play tees off Friday at 8:00 a.m. and 12:15 p.m., Saturday at 9:00 a.m., and Sunday at 8:00 a.m.
After a second place finish at the 2003 Big Ten Championship, and an appearance at the NCAA Championships for the first time in Wisconsin history, the players are ready for another successful ending to their season. This time it will be with first-year head coach Todd Oehrlein leading the way.
Last year's finish was the best in Wisconsin's history since the 1994 squad brought home UW's first-ever Big Ten title, which was also held at the OSU course.
The competition for this year's Big Ten crowd will be difficult, as six of the teams are ranked among the top 50 in the nation (according to Golfweek/Sagarin rankings). The most threatening team will likely be No. 3 Ohio State, who hosts the tournament and is playing for its third consecutive championship. The Buckeyes boast the No. 5 and No. 7 ranked individuals in Allison Hanna and Kristen White.
Wisconsin will bring many weapons of its own, most notably senior golfer Malinda Johnson. She is in the midst of her best season at UW and one of the best in Wisconsin's history. Johnson will likely break UW's season and career scoring average records before she leaves the UW golf program this season.
Johnson has never finished worse than third at the conference meet and she nearly became Wisconsin's first-ever individual medalist in 2003, remaining in a three-way tie for first until the final hole. The Eau Claire native tied for second at the 2002 contest and did not compete in 2001.
While leading the Badgers through all nine tournaments in which she participated this season, Johnson has tied or placed first in three contests. She won the Baylor-Tapatio Springs Shootout for the second time in her career, was co-medalist at the Central District Classic, and tied for first at the season-opening Badger Invitational. The first was among a field of 113 individuals, the second among 68, and the third had 45 participants.
For her accomplishments, she was named Big Ten Golfer or Co-Golfer of the Week three times this spring. Two of the awards were given in consecutive weeks. She has finished among the top five in seven of nine tournaments, missing one tournament, the Indiana Invitational, due to injury.
Another player that will be returning from Wisconsin's first-ever NCAA Championship appearance is sophomore Lindsay McMillan. She led the team at the Indiana Invitational, in the absence of Johnson, and has followed the senior in team standings at three other tournaments.
The third NCAA returnee playing this weekend is sophomore Jackie Obermueller, who has not missed a tournament in her two seasons with the Badgers. She recently shot an 18-hole best in the second round of the Baylor-Tapatio Springs Shootout, helping the team tie its season low score.
Complementing the experience these players offer is true freshman Nicki Morse. She ranks a close third behind McMillan in scoring average and has played in all but one tournament for the Badgers.
Also playing at the Big Ten Championship for the first time will be freshman Jill Ries, who averages 82.4 through 18 rounds, and junior Sami Forster, who rejoined the golf program after playing the 2000-01 season.
Watch uwbadgers.com for round-by-round updates and scoring summaries.
