After finishing tried for fourth in the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational, sophomore golfer Patricia Sinolungan credits her performance to a summer that improved her newly found approach to the game.
“I felt improving my short-game would help play one of the biggest roles in helping myself score better and minimizing shots,” Sinolungan said. “There were some minor things I had to fix with my swing when I shot with the wedge and the driver but overall the short shots are something I worked on over the summer and focused on the most.”
Sinolungan opened the fall season helping lead the Mean Green women’s golf team to a third-place finish in the Trinity Forrest Invitational at Southern Methodist. The following weekend, heading into Day 2, Sinolungan was tied for second place at even-par and finished the weekend 2-over.
“I’m not all that surprised about how well she performed over that weekend,” head coach Michael Akers said. “She played good over the summer and even won a local tournament in the off-season. The hard work she puts in every day is showing.”
“She’s definitely a hard worker and inspires us all to give it our best,” Cox said. “I think she does a good job of leading and being a good teammate.”lfers over that weekend that placed in the top 10 in both days. Freshman Audrey Tan finished tied for sixth that Sunday with a 2-over score and Monday tied for tenth at 3-over, senior Lauren Cox finished the Sunday at ninth place (+3) and Monday tied for sixth with the same score.
Cox has received multiple Conference USA honors and holds numerous school records for Mean Green women’s golf. She has seen the maturity of Sinolungan this year and notices some of the changes made.
“I’ve noticed she loves to practice her swing even when we’re not on the course,” Cox said. “Every day she has an approach to become a better golfer.”
Sinolungan grew up competing in international tournaments while playing for the amateur Indonesian National golf team. Before playing for North Texas, her amateur career included performances where she placed third at the Indonesia National Amateur Championship and finished fourth in the Ciputra World Junior Championship. As a freshman in the spring season, she was named the C-USA Golfer of the Week for Feb. 27. Sinolungan used the summer as motivation to fix some specific aspects of her game.
“When I went back home for the summer I met with my coach and played with the national team again as well,” Sinolungan said. “We met regularly while I was playing in tournaments, and he kept our sessions with high intensity. My technique improved and I was able to play in four tournaments during the offseason.”
Akers believes that Sinolungan’s work ethic has allowed her to improve in the manner she has.
“She is easily one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen,” Akers said. “We’re allowed 20 hours per week of practice as a team and I know she puts in far more time into her game than I can imagine.”
Despite being a young college sophomore at the age of 18, her coaches and teammates do not believe that the age difference as any impact on her game.
“Her age does not affect her performance in the game,” said Akers. “Some lead by example and some lead verbally. [Patricia] leads by example with her work ethic, and the freshmen can see her as an example to follow.”
The Mean Green women’s golf team travels to Austin, Texas to play in the Betsy Rawls Invitational at the University of Texas Oct. 12-13. Sinolungan and the Mean Green women’s golf team look to repeat having three members finish in the top ten as they did in the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational tournament.
Featured Image: Sophomore Patricia Sinolungan watches her putt to the cup at practice on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019. Image by Jordan Collard
Article Originally Published by on North Texas Daily
Source: North Texas Daily