Senior Kayla Krueger (Spring Lake, Mich. / Spring Lake) led the way as the Valparaiso University women’s golf team returned to action on Monday with the first 18 holes of the 36-hole Benbow Invitational, hosted by Butler at Jacksonville Beach Golf Course in Jacksonville Beach, Fla. The senior established a career low on Monday.

How It Happened

• Krueger carded a 74 (+3) and holds the outright lead for medalist honors entering the second and final day of the event on Tuesday. She is one stroke up on Jessie Kweon of St. John’s and Natalie Welsh of Radford, who are tied for second.
• Freshman Cailey Rooker (St. Joseph, Mich. / St. Joseph) was second on the team with an 81, tying for 28^th overall.
• Valpo posted a Day 1 team score of 331, good enough for a tie for 10^th in the team standings. The Brown & Gold hold leads over Lehigh, Eastern Illinois and Savannah State while sharing 10^th with Butler.

Inside the Round

• Krueger’s previous career low of 75 (+2) came in the second round of this year’s Loyola Invitational. Her performance on Monday was her overall career low, but the showing at Loyola remains her personal best in relation to par.
• Krueger tied with Payton Hodson for the team’s lowest score of the season. Hodson’s 74 came at the Dayton Fall Invitational on Oct. 14.
• Krueger was one stroke away from entering the program record book for 18-hole score in relation to par.

Thoughts from Head Coach Jill McCoy

“While the course was set up very difficult and our team score wasn’t our best, Kayla had a great round. She started the day with four three-putts on the first four holes and was four over par. Then, she finished the rest of the round one under. I’m very proud of her and how hard she’s been working. All of her hard work is paying off. The team is really looking forward to getting back out there and improving on Tuesday.

Up Next

The second and final round will tee off on Tuesday morning in Jacksonville.