COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho- Michelle Kim earned a top-10 finish for the second consecutive week and Idaho women's golf distanced itself from the bottom half of the field Wednesday, to finish eighth at the Coeur d'Alene Resort Collegiate Invitational.
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"We played well," said head coach
Lisa Johnson. "We didn't get off to a very good start but we played the last 12 holes significantly better. We didn't let our poor start affect us emotionally. We played the course one stroke at a time. I was very proud of the team for that. We left the course feeling like we had a very good week."
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The Vandals shot an 8-over 292 in the final round to finish eighth, 10 strokes clear of ninth-place Oregon State. Idaho was five strokes back of fifth place, two strokes behind Washington State and one stroke back of Indiana.
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Kim birdied two of her final three holes to shoot an even-par 71 in the final round and finish in a tie for sixth at 2-under (72-68-71=211) for the week. It is Kim's best score to par of her career, and the first time she has finished under par since her collegiate debut in 2015. It is the 10th top-10 finish of the junior's career.
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Freshman
Valeria Patino continued to make an immediate impact early in her Vandal career. Despite posting a bogey on three of her first four holes, Patino battled back to shoot a 74 Wednesday, concluding her week at 3-over 216 (74-68-74).
Sophie Hausmann finished her season debut one stroke behind Patino. Hausmann shot a final-round 72 to wrap up a consistent week (72-73-72=217).
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Idaho is off next week before returning to action Oct. 10-11, for the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational hosted by Washington at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash.
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"The bottom half of the lineup is going to have to earn their spots over the next two weeks," said Johnson. "We will play Lewiston Country Club a couple of times to help prepare for the challenge we have ahead of us. Sahalee Country Club is a very tough golf course. It's very tree lined and tight off the tee."
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