Persson breaks record; ISU women’s golf team finishes 4th at Longhorn Invite
Photo: Liz Ulrichson/Iowa State
Cajsa Persson, a freshman in Pre-Business, lines up her putt at the Big 12 Golf Tournament on Sunday, April 21 at The Harvester.
October 16, 2013
After two consecutive top-10 finishes and a tied record for a low 54-hole score, sophomore Cajsa Persson set her own record, locked up another top-10 finish and led the No. 15 ISU women’s golf team to a fourth-place finish at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational.
Persson started off the tournament with two rounds of three-under 69, which marked her as the only player in ISU history to record back-to-back sub-70 rounds.
Although she is proud of the accolade, Persson isn’t striving to be compared to anyone from the past.
“It’s always nice to shoot in the 60s, but being one of the best ever at Iowa State isn’t really a goal,” Persson said. “We’re here right now, in this moment, and that’s all that I’m worried about — not being compared.”
Top-10 performances get players noticed. With her third-straight top-10 finish, Persson is ranked 29th in the Golfweek rankings. She finished with an overall score of 210, which breaks Iowa State’s 54-hole scoring mark. She’s also tied for fifth place, sharing the spot with Denver’s Tonje Daffinrud.
The ISU women’s golf team finished with a team total of 862, which got them fourth place at the Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational. UCLA won the tournament with an overall score of 838. They had a player who finished first and another who tied for second.
“We played with a lot of good teams. We came out strong and hung,” said senior Prima Thammaraks. “This is a group of special girls.”
Thammaraks had an overall score of 221.
Senior Sasikarn On-iam finished with an overall score of 215 to tie for 13th place. Junior Chonlada Chayanun fought her way back after an opening round of three-over 75.
Chayanun carded a three-under for the second round and finished the final round even. She tied for 16th place with an overall score of 216, on stroke behind On-iam.
“I think [862] is the best score we’ve had as a team since I’ve been here, so I am really proud of my team,” Chayanun said.
Mentality is something the players would like to improve on. Persson said “good mental thinking” and a “never-give-up attitude” is what helped with the team’s success. Chayanun would like to continue improving on holding composure late in the tournaments.
The Cyclones will head to Wilmington, N.C., on Oct. 25 for The Landfall Tradition.
