The Colorado women’s golf team, ranked No. 48 nationally, is set to compete in the Thunderbird Intercollegiate at Tucson Country Club from February 9-10. The event is hosted by Lorena Ochoa and will take place on a par-72 course expected to play around 6,500 yards.
The Buffaloes recently finished tied for 10th at the Collegiate Invitational at Guadalajara Country Club. Head coach Madeleine Sheils commented on the team’s preparation following their return: “We were excited to just have the rust knocked off and to go back to work in Boulder this week,” Sheils said. “We worked on our short games a ton. I was really satisfied with a great week of chipping, putting and especially some wedge work. I think everyone is excited to get right back after it, and I expect us to compete hard this week.”
Fifteen teams are participating in the tournament, including seven from the Big 12 Conference as teams prepare for April’s Big 12 Championship in Dallas. Among the top-ranked competitors are No. 18 Arizona State, host No. 20 Arizona, and No. 20 Oklahoma State.
Colorado’s lineup features four of five starters from their last outing in Mexico: Ellen O’Shaughnessy, Vanessa Ngo, Maya McVey, and junior Carolyn Fuller—who led the team during fall competition. O’Shaughnessy was Colorado’s best performer at Guadalajara with a tie for 15th place at three-over-par (219), marking her fourth top-20 finish this season.
“Ellen did a lot of things well mentally in Mexico and learned a lot from that experience,” Sheils said. “It’s nice to be able for her to have that in her back pocket, being able to really trust herself, and just keep working on those same things.”
Freshman Teemapat Pateetin will make her spring debut after ranking third on the team during fall play with an average score of 73.50 strokes per round and two top-20 finishes.
“Teem is such a big part of our lineup,” Sheils said. “I know that she’s been working really hard on her game and she’s so excited to get back into competition. We’re really happy to have her here with us.”
The tournament consists of three rounds over two days using shotgun starts at 8:30 a.m Mountain Time each day. For the opening rounds, Colorado will be grouped with Texas Tech (No. 47), Grand Canyon University, and Seattle University; these groups will start between holes ten and thirteen.
