Indian Hills Country Club, Mission Hills, Kansas
The Players Division wrapped up today with twins Hope and Hanna Robinett finishing first and second. Hope shot 16 over while Hanna shot 28 over. Hope shot one of her lowest rounds in a tournament on Monday with a seven over 77. She then played another great round with a 79 today. She shot an even par 35 on her first nine holes of the tournament which gave her a lot of momentum for the following holes. She then shot seven over 42 on the back nine.
The Prairie Invitational Open Division made cuts to the top 18 players plus ties after 36 holes. The remaining players will compete for the Prairie Invitational Champion and Kansas Women’s Amateur Champion titles tomorrow. Players to watch include leaders, Jessica Meek (+8) from Columbia, Missouri and Kirsten Baete (+8) from Beatrice, Nebraska. Local talent on the leaderboard is Assistant Golf Professional at Ironhorse Golf Club, Whitney Pyle (+9) of Overland Park, Kansas. Emma Whitaker (+10) of Wichita, Kansas and Chloe Kraus (+10) of Olathe, Kansas are also at the top of the Kansas Women’s Amateur leaderboard. The competition is close and the unique set up of the event allows for anyone to move up on the leaderboard.
About the event:
The Prairie Invitational is a premier women’s golf event in Kansas City for amateur and professional players. The purpose of the tournament is to enhance women’s golf and junior women’s golf not only in the Kansas City area, but on the regional level. The Prairie was formerly known as the Women’s Amateur of Kansas City, to find the best female golfer in the Midwest. The 2017 tournament was the first time the event was 54 holes of play in the Open Division with a cut after 36 holes played. 2017 was also the first year the tournament was included in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
The Prairie Invitational also hosted the KGA Kansas Women’s Amateur Championship. The two divisions are the Open division and the Player’s division. The Open division targets expert level players and they will play from the championship yardage of 6,000-6,200 yards. The Open division is 54 holes of play while the Players division is 36 holes with a division for gross and net. The Players division plays from the ladies’ tees.
This is the fourth year the Prairie Invitational has taken place. The first tournament took place at Falcon Ridge Golf Club with 49 players. The field has grown exponentially each year since. The winners for the first three years were amateurs, while last year Kristen Samp, was the first professional to win last year at Milburn Country Club.
-Teagan Noblit, Contributor