Women’s Golf Set For Chippewa Invitational

Duane Zehr

Live Scoring

Women's Golf 10/18/2019 2:00:00 PM

PEORIA, Ill. -- After almost four weeks off from competition, Bradley Women's Golf returns to the course Monday and Tuesday for the Chippewa Invitational in Birmingham, Mich., in the team's first trip to the state of Michigan in over a decade.

The Braves last trip to the Great Lakes State was in September 2007 at the Wolverine Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich., with Bradley playing its first tournament since the Missouri Valley Conference Preview in Burlington, Iowa, back on Sept. 23 & 24.

The Chippewa Invitational is the only 36-hole tournament on the 2019-20 schedule for the Braves, who will wrap up the fall schedule the following week at the Little Rock Invitational Oct. 27-29.

Play at the par-72 Birmingham Country Club begins Monday with tee times starting at 9 a.m. (CDT) and Tuesday's final round will feature a 9 a.m. (CDT) shotgun start. BradleyBraves.com will provide links to live scoring for both rounds.

The lone Missouri Valley Conference team in the 12-team field, Bradley is third among Valley schools in the latest Golfweek.com rankings. Joining the Braves in the field are Mid-American Conference foes Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan along with Chicago State, Detroit, Ferris State, Grand Valley State, Mount St. Mary's, Niagara, Purdue Fort Wayne and Stonehill College.

Bradley will benefit from the return of three-time All-MVC performer Taylor Ledwein to the lineup after she missed the first three tournaments of the fall with an injury. Ledwein's 75.50 stroke average from last year is fifth among Bradley season records and she starts the year second in school history with a 75.92 career average.

Junior Maddie Hawkins is coming off the second top-10 finish of her Bradley career, tying for seventh at the MVC Preview to pace the Braves. Hawkins is tied for the best stroke average on the team this year at 76.89 and is the only Brave to shoot 79 or better in all nine rounds this season to already match her season total from 2018-19.

Senior Megan Medinger has been among Bradley's top two individual finishers in two of the first three tournaments with a season-best 11th-place showing at the season-opening Redbird Invitational. Medinger picked up where she left off in the spring, where she had a 77.27 stroke average, and is third on the team this year with a 77.67 average. She will be appearing in her team-best 12th consecutive tournament.

Sophomore Megan Welch has played as an individual in each of the last two tournaments and will be appearing in the Bradley lineup for the second time in her career. Welch tied for 24th at the Babs Steffens Hatter Collegiate last March for the best finish of her career the only other time she appeared in the team lineup.

Rounding out the lineup for the Braves is freshman Mara Flaherty, who is fourth on the team with a 78.11 stroke average. She has five rounds this season of 77 or better, which is tied for third on the team.

Sophomore Elyse Emerzian will play in the Chippewa Invitational as an individual and is tied with Hawkins for the lowest average on the squad this year at 76.89. Emerzian did not play in the fall last year, but will be playing in her ninth consecutive tournament for the second longest active streak on the squad. She owns a team-best six rounds of 76 or better this year.

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