The Wesleyan women’s golf team is just six years old, but they have already orchestrated a meteoric rise in Division III. From a five-player roster in 2019 that had a scoring average of 118.4, the Cardinals have surged to 10th in the nation following a breakthrough this fall season.
The Cardinals entered Fall play riding momentum from a historic Spring. For the first time in program history, they qualified for the NESCAC Championship as a team, finishing 6th—just 17 strokes behind the champion Middlebury Panthers—while Mia Holbrook ’27 claimed solo second place.
They would not be able to ease their way into the 2025 Fall season as their first tournament took place at the Ralph Myhre Course in Middlebury, Vt. Widely regarded as the toughest track in the NESCAC, the course backed this up, yielding a scoring average of 85.3 over the two days.
Holbrook offered insight into the challenging conditions at Ralph Meyer.
“It’s very defensive golf,” Holbrook said. “Definitely not a lot of birdies to be had out there that weekend. The course was so windy and firm. It was like playing catch-up off the jump. You had to hit the shot that had the best worst-case scenario, and think about, if this goes wrong, where’s going to give me the best chance at making a par or sometimes even a bogey?”
Amanda Phillips ’28, fresh off a remarkable first year in which she became the first Cardinal golfer to be named to the All-NESCAC First Team, starred on Day 1. She carded an impressive bogey-free 34 on the front nine en route to a 77 (+6), placing her fourth on the individual leaderboard. Phillips was the only player among the 69 competitors to shoot under par on either nine. Mia Rodgers ’29 also found herself in the top 10 after Day 1, turning in a 79 in her collegiate debut, and joining just two others in the field without a double-bogey or worse.
Day 2 didn’t produce the same standout performances, but the Cardinals delivered a well-rounded effort to finish seventh among the 12 competing schools. All six players recorded scores between 80 and 85, with Phillips shooting an 80 to secure a solo fourth place finish, her third top five in seven career starts.
The stage shifted to the Williams Invite at Taconic Golf Course, a venue Golf Digest ranks as the country’s second-best college course. Built in 1927 during the “Golden Age” of golf architecture, Taconic was renovated in 2009 by Gil Hanse, one of the game’s premier modern architects. In a multi-million dollar renovation, Hanse, along with refining bunkers and green contours, made his mark by removing one thousand trees. The move was designed to restore the strategic width that had vanished as the course narrowed, but it has also delivered an unforeseen advantage to the Cardinals.
“The course is so open so you can see everything going on,” Kayla Howell ’26 said. “I can look across and see my teammates four holes over and we can put up our hand signals. I just love seeing the red bag, and that’s what drives all of us because we’re so close and all have a strong desire to play for Wesleyan and play for each other, and so being able to see each other so much [was] a big part of our success at Taconic.”
Wesleyan delivered a record-breaking opening round at Taconic, with all five players shooting 76 or better. Mia Rodgers led the charge with an even-par 71, followed by Grace Wu ’29 overcoming an opening double-bogey seven to shoot 72 (+1). Holbrook’s 76 was the score dropped on this day, a remarkable development from two years ago, when a 77 would have been the team’s best score. The Cardinals’ round 1 total was 293 (+9), marking the first time in program history they broke 300 on a day. In their most competitive tournament of the season, which sees 20 teams from all over the country, Wesleyan was the second name on the leaderboard halfway through.
Day 2 didn’t produce the same fireworks, but it was still a respectable showing, as all four of Wesleyan’s scoring players broke 80. Wu carded a season-high four birdies, including her second consecutive deuce on the par-3 ninth. Phillips handled Taconic’s demanding par-3s, paring all four to gain 2.86 strokes on the field on those holes alone. The moment of the day belonged to Holbrook on the narrow Par-5 18th. Playing her third in the left rough with 55 yards remaining to a tricky, two-tiered green, the junior standout played a delicate pitch that found its way into the back of the cup for an eagle three. The Red and Black closed the weekend out in fourth place, and only five shots behind second place. Their score of 602 over the two days was a program record.
Entering the program in 2022, when the team was still in its infancy and players were consistently shooting in the 90s, Howell can fully appreciate just how far they’ve come.
“The transformation is crazy because my freshman year, our main goal as a team was to come in fourth place at a small tournament,” Howell said. “After the first round [at Taconic], we were on the putting green with NYU and Amherst, the teams right behind us on the leaderboard. It was one of those moments, because for me it signified we had a chance to win the whole thing.”
College golf is unique in the grind it presents on tournament weeks. With early Saturday tee times, the team departs midday Friday and doesn’t return until Sunday evening. The NCAA mandates at least one day off per week, making Mondays optional practice days. Tuesday and Wednesday are reserved for qualifying rounds that determine each week’s lineup, leaving Thursday as the only day players can freely work on their games. For those who make the traveling roster, it adds up to four days of competitive golf each week.
“When I first got here, I remember saying to my parents that all I do is go to class and go to golf, and that’s my whole life here,” Holbrook said. “When we’re in season, there’s so much competition and it can get mentally exhausting.”
If three straight weekends of tournament golf had worn down the Cardinals, they certainly didn’t show it. Returning north for their fall season finale, Wes teed it up at Brunswick Golf Club for the Polar Bear Shootout.
For the second straight Saturday, the Red and Black broke 300. Howell and Holbrook starred, shooting a best ball 67 (-6). Holbrook did her damage on the back nine, recording a birdie on 12 and then following it up on 13, where she rolled in a 25-footer on her way to a 33, and ultimately an even par 73. Howell shot -2 on the front nine, aided by a spectacular 6-iron from 170 yards on the 9th hole, that worked its way inside a foot to set up a tap-in eagle and a round of 74 (+1). Phillips’ 74 and Rodgers’ 76 rounded out the scoring that put the Cardinals in 2nd place after Day 1 for the second straight tournament.
The Cards backed this up with a 296 on day two, posting a two-day total of 593 (+9), which broke the program record they had established a week prior. Rodgers shot the team’s first under-par round of the season, carding a one-under 72, where she went -4 on the Par 5’s, highlighted by a chip-in eagle on the 16th. Howell and Phillips each added a second-straight 74 to join Rodgers at +2 for the week, and a tie for 11th place. With Wu and Holbrook both placing inside the top 30, Wesleyan secured second place, finishing seven shots ahead of third-place Wellesley College. With this finish, they earned themselves a spot in the top-10 in the end of season rankings.
In her six tournament rounds, Phillips had a scoring average of 75.83, with her worst round being an 80 on Day 2 at the Ralph, where she still gained over five strokes to the field. Overall, she gained 7.44 strokes per round and finished no worse than 11th. Howell, Holbrook, Wu, and Rodgers all finished inside the top half in each of the three tournaments.
Alongside tennis and crew, golf is one of the few Wesleyan programs that competes across both fall and spring. While the full slate of tournaments has yet to be finalized, two dates are already set on the calendar. The NESCAC Championship returns to Taconic Golf Club for the third time in four years, followed by the D-III NCAA Championships at Desert Willow in California. Just a few years ago, qualifying even one player for the NCAA Championship seemed out of reach. Now, the Cardinals have a real chance to make it as a team. With the Division III Women’s Golf Committee limiting the field to around 30 teams, and roughly 10 at-large bids, it won’t be easy, but Wesleyan’s No. 10 national ranking puts them in a strong position to earn a bid.
Sam Weitzman-Kurker can be reached at sweitzmankur@wesleyan.edu.
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