This Week in Michigan Women's Golf: Ruth's Chris Invitational

» Michigan heads to Chapel Hill to participate in one of the fall's premier events: North Carolina's Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational.
» With 18 teams in the field, 11 are currently ranked among the top 50 in the country and 15 in the top 75.
» Last year, sophomore Ashley Kim led U-M to a 12th place finish after she tied for 37th with a 218 tally, including a career-best 66 (-6) in the second round.
» With heavy rains and potential fallout from Hurricane Michael, the first round has been moved to an 11 a.m. shotgun start.

THIS WEEK
Fri-Sun., Oct. 12-14 -- Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
Live Scoring | UNC Finley Golf Course

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On the Tee: Ruth's Chris Invitational

The University of Michigan women's golf team returns to action in the loaded field at North Carolina's Ruth's Chris Invitational. The Wolverines travel to Chapel Hill from Friday through Sunday, Oct. 12-14, for the 54-hole event held at UNC's Finley Golf Club. With 11 teams of the 18 team field among the top 50 in the national rankings, the tournament will be one of the strongest tests of the season for U-M. The three-day event features 18 holes played each day. The Finley will be set up for a par 72 and 6,379 yards.

The Ruth's Chris Invitational Field

There will be 18 teams competing in the Ruth's Chris Invitational, including No. 9 Arkansas, No. 52 Charlotte, No. 30 Clemson, No. 10 Duke, No. 13 Furman, No. 37 Louisville, No. 66 Michigan, No. 25 Michigan State, No. 62 NC State, No. 41 North Carolina, No. 38 Ohio State, Rollins, No. 34 South Carolina, Tulane, UNC Wilmington, No. 2 Vanderbilt, No. 7 Virginia and No. 11 Wake Forest.

The Ruth's Chris Invitational Schedule

Wednesday, Oct. 10 -- Travel Day
Thursday, Oct. 11 -- Practice Round
Friday, Oct. 12 -- First Round (18), 11:00 a.m. (shotgun)
Saturday, Oct. 13 -- Second Round (18), 8:51 a.m. (tee times off No. 1)
Sunday, Oct. 14 -- Final Round (18), 9:15 a.m. (shotgun)

The Michigan Lineup at Ruth's Chris Invitational

Michigan's starting five will be junior Hannah Ghelfi, sophomore Ashley Kim, freshman Ashley Lau, senior Elodie Van Dievoet and junior Alisa Snyder.

Michigan's History at the Finley Golf Club

• U-M made its first appearance at the Finley Golf Club in the program's first appearance in the NCAA Regional in 2001. The Wolverines finished 12th in the 21-team East Regional at 925 (308-308-309).
• During the 2005-06 season, U-M made a stop at the Finley Golf Club for a match-play event against UNC Greensboro, winning 5.5-3.5.
• U-M added three more appearances at the Finley Golf Club. First in the 2012 Tar Heel Invitational, the Wolverines finished 18th with a 947 total followed with a 12th place showing at the 2016 Ruth's Chris Invitational with an 894 total. Last year, U-M matched its 12th place showing with an 875 team tally.

Wolverine Bites

• After getting a phone call from U-M's collegiate neighbor EMU, the Eagles invited two individuals to compete in the Shirley Spork Invitational (Oct. 8-9) at the Eagle Crest Golf Club. Freshman Sophia Trombetta tied for third individually with a 147 total. She opened with a career-best, and U-M season-low, 70 (-2) to start before closing with a 77. Fellow freshman Jacqueline Young tied for 43rd with a 163 total.

• After a strong opening individual performance at the season-opening East & West Match Play Challenge at Radrick Farms, junior Hannah Ghelfi followed leading U-M with a career-best performance at the Windy City Classic. After a career-best 72 (E) to open her event, she posted rounds of 76 and 74 to give her a career-best 54-hole tournament total of 222 -- a seven shot difference from her prior best.

• In a way-too-early battle for the scoring lead, sophomore Ashley Kim is atop the leaderboard with a 74.20 scoring average. Just a single shot back, Hannah Ghelfi is second at 74.40, with junior Alisa Snyder at 74.50 and freshman Ashley Lau following at 74.80.

• Michigan opened its 2018-19 season hosting the East & West Match Play Challenge at the Radrick Farms Golf Course. The Wolverines, who qualified seventh with a 591 stroke play tally, finished sixth with a 1-1 match play record. Opening by defeating Texas A&M (3-2) in the consolation semifinal, U-M dropped a 4.5-0.5 decision to Oregon in the 5th/6th place match.

• Hannah Ghelfi competed as an individual at the East & West Match Play and nearly came away with the individual title. Winning her final two holes, Ghelfi broke a tie and claimed a 2-and-1 victory over Oregon's Bella Setio to advance to the individual championship. In a hard-fought 18-hole battle with Ohio State's Adeena Shears, the title match came down to the final hole, which did not end in Ghelfi's favor, as she lost, 1 up, and finished as the runner-up.

• Senior Elodie Van Dievoet is expected to play in her 31st career event and 30th start at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational. Sophomore Ashley Kim is scheduled to start her 12th straight event since arriving in Ann Arbor. Freshman Ashley Lau will make her third consecutive start in her young career.

Inside the Maize and Blue

• Michigan made back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances and advanced to the NCAA Finals in 2016 and then 2017. U-M had only one prior NCAA Finals appearance, in 2002, and finished 17th. The Wolverines tied for 18th in 2016 and followed with a tie for 16th in 2017.

• In five seasons under coach Jan Dowling, U-M has posted two top-five finishes at the Big Ten Championships -- 2015 (5th) and 2017 (5th). Prior to Dowling's arrival, U-M had recorded just eight total top-five finishes at the conference tournament. In fact, Dowling's squad just missed a third top-five in 2016 when it finished sixth.

• Elodie Van Dievoet had a remarkable 2017 postseason for the Wolverines. After winning the Big Ten individual title, her dramatic 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at the Columbus Regional helped send U-M to the NCAA Finals for a second straight season and gave her a top-10 individual finish (T9th). In the finals, she recorded the highest individual finish for a Wolverine (T4th), and paced U-M to its best finish at the championships (T16th).

• This summer, U-M coach Jan Dowling was an assistant coach for Team International at the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup at Evian Resort Golf Club in southeastern France. In a Ryder Cup-style tournament co-founded by Arnold Palmer and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), the event featured top university/college golfers and matched the United States against an International team.

Next on the Tee

• Fri-Sun., Oct. 26-28 -- Landfall Tradition (Wilmington, N.C.)
• Mon-Tue., Feb. 18-19 -- Moon Golf Invitational (Melbourne, Fla.)