Leanne Owens was off to a rocky start early in the fall season.

The redshirt junior finished tied for 75th place in the Unlimited Potential Invitational and tied for 34th in the Chip-N-Club Invitational last week.

But on Tuesday, Owens got out of her slump and captured the individual title at the Pioneer Highlands Ranch International at Highland Ranch, Colo. Her score helped lead the ISU women’s golf team to its second consecutive team title of the season.

Owens shot a personal-best 143 in the 36-hole tournament, good for second place in Iowa State’s all-time two round totals. She ended day one of the tournament with a one-under-par 71, putting her in first place.

“I was trying to keep my composure. I was pretty nervous the second day after shooting a good score and putting myself in position,” Owens said. “I was trying to keep level-headed as I could and calm down. Coach [Julie Manning] followed me through a lot of holes to make sure I was level-headed.

“I think it was the matter of confidence in me of getting down there and playing and believing that I could score well in the tournament,” Owens said.

Owens, a marketing major, said her putting has been a big change to her game as of late.

“I had to get my shoulders squared up with my feet. I had my shoulders opened and was pushing a lot of putts,” said Owens, a native of Creston. “I wasn’t consistent in making them earlier this season. I missed a lot of four-footers for par and for birdies.”

ISU women’s golf coach Julie Manning said Owens was not in a groove with her putting early in the season.

“She was struggling earlier in the season with her putting. In Nebraska, she hit rock bottom,” she said. “You get to a point as a coach to make a change and her putting needed to be changed. So, she switched putters, and she’s been sinking putts since then.”

Success above the high school level is something Owens is still getting accustomed to. Just over a year ago, in the summer of 2001, she competed in the U.S. Women’s Amateur where she missed the cut by two strokes.

“That was amazing and so much fun, too. I had my family with me and my two brothers caddied for me,” she said. “I went seven over on the last three holes. It was disappointing that I didn’t make the cut and get in match play. It was just awesome to be there. They treat you great.”

In high school, Owens was a multi-sport athlete who played basketball and softball for four years and volleyball for two. She said she didn’t get serious with golf until her junior and senior years – then she finished sixth place at the state meet both years.

“Competing at state was nerve-wracking because I never played in a lot of tournaments. I just played in high school tournaments,” Owens said. “I think my senior year was tougher because I already had been there and I wanted to prove myself and place better. It didn’t work out, so that was all right, too.”

Owens said a couple of Division III schools recruited her for basketball and golf, but she wanted interest from a bigger school.

“Coach Manning was the only Division I coach that went after me, so I signed up right away,” Owens said. “She asked me to walk on. I couldn’t think of going any place else. To compete at this level is just amazing. It’s just an opportunity for anybody.”

Owens redshirted her freshman season because the team had between 12 and 14 players.

“I wasn’t very good yet,” she said. “I worked a lot on the short game and getting my swing in form. Most of the girls were seniors so it was good for me to redshirt that year.”

Owens said her strength is driving the ball and her short game is much improved.

“Her style of play is different of other members of the team,” Manning said. “Her game is playing the long game, and she hits a lot of wedges when she plays. She’s extremely competitive, and she’s learning every day.”

Owens competed in the last two tournaments in the 2000-2001 season where she finished 23rd at the Hawkeye Classic and posted a 256 in the Big 12 Conference tournament. Last season, she carded a 75 three times in the fall season.

Between the first two years of competing in tournaments, Owens kept on practicing and working on her game.

“I was hoping things would fall into place,” she said. “I was starting to get more consistent. Just competing helped so much that making every tournament last year, I learned so much about myself in tournament situations.”

Off the course, Owens is a member of Vortex, a student leadership group for student-athletes, and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, which does things like community outreach.

As far as future plans, Owens plans to try for the professional level if the opportunity exists.

“She has the tools to play in the professional level,” Manning said. “She works very hard and she’s the one person on the team that keeps everybody loose.”

Regardless of what lies ahead, Owens likes how the team is playing so far in the fall season.

“We have a lot of leaders on the team. Everybody is a good player,” she said. “We’re all such good friends that we pat each other on the back whenever somebody teaches something new. I think it’s great that someone else plays well.”