The Everett Buick GMC Classic showcased a similar story for Ball State that has played out many times throughout the fall season. Like a nova, the Cardinals got hot between the first and second rounds as they quickly improved their collective score before fading out in the final round.
Ball State finished the Badger Invitational in 11th place out of 18 teams. Junior Kash Bellar finished 4th individually at the invite.
In a stacked field of 16 competitors from across the country, including ninth-ranked Pepperdine, Ball State finished 13th place after three days of competition at the Red Sky Classic’s Fazio course.
The Ball State hosted event gets its name from the former Ball State alum Brittany Kelly who was a standout golfer for the Cardinals, a PGA professional, and a member of the U.S. Women’s PGA Cup Team in 2019. Brittany passed away in 2021 from ovarian cancer, but her memory still lives on in the hearts of the competitors who won the competition in her honor two years later.
Sophomore Carter Smith and junior Kash Bellar finished the 2023 Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational individually in first and second place to push the Cardinals to a first place finish out of 10. The Cardinals look to continue their strong start to the 2023-24 season when they head to the Badger Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin, Oct. 1.
Despite the field, Ball State was able to showcase its own talent through returning sophomore Carter Smith and junior Griffin Hare who helped the Cardinals earn 4th place.
In its first meet of the 2023-24 campaign, Ball State Women's Golf finished 14th out of 15 programs at the Boilermaker Classic in West Lafayette, Indiana, Sept. 4-5. The Cardinals look to bounce back when it hosts the Brittany Kelly Classic Sept. 18 and 19 at the Woodland Trails Player’s Club in Yorktown, Indiana.
Heading into the final road trip of the year, Ball State commands its own destiny. If the Cardinals can win two out of their three remaining games, the Cardinals will claim the MAC regular season title uncontested by Bowling Green, who is currently 2.5 games behind. With the regular season title, the MAC tournament would be played from Worthen Arena and Ball State would have home court advantage throughout.
“Right from the get-go we pretty much had all attackers firing on all cylinders, you know Miami does some unique things defensively and I felt like we just came out not overthinking their defense and just swinging away,” head coach Kelli Miller Phillips said.
