SAU prepares to play host to NAIA Women's Golf Championships
Additional Media Coverage:
Bees welcome nation's elite to NAIA finals - Steve Batterson/Quad-City Times
NAIA Women's Golf Championships are coming to the Quad Cities - Evan Denton/KWQC-TV
St. Ambrose women's golf to host NAIA Championship - Jay Kidwell/WHBF-TV
After hosting the men's event eight times since 2009, St. Ambrose will play host to the NAIA Women's Golf Championships at TPC Deere Run for the first time next week. The 2023 championships, co-hosted by Visit Quad Cities, officially get underway Tuesday in Silvis, Ill.
The 156-player field features 30 teams and seven individual qualifiers. That includes a young St. Ambrose team that has played some of its best golf down the stretch this spring. Led by all-CCAC performers Katherine Speer and Amara Lytle, the Bees placed second at the conference championships last month. Speer, a junior from Omaha, Neb., took third at the CCAC Championships. She is second on the team with an 86.71 scoring average this year. Lytle, a sophomore from Cedar Falls, Iowa, currently leads the team by aceraging an 85.53 over 17 rounds this year. Juniors Kara Williams (Pittsfield, Ill.), Audrey McAleer (DeWitt, Iowa) and Leah Sullivan (Dubuque, Iowa) will round out the SAU lineup.
After practice rounds Monday, the event officially tees off at 7 a.m. Tuesday. St. Ambrose will begin play at 12:20 p.m. off hole No. 10. The Bees will tee off at 7:20 a.m. Wednesday from hole No. 1. The field will be cut to the top 17 teams and any individuals inside the top 40 following the second round. A National Champion will be crowned following the fourth round Friday.