University of Wisconsin women’s golfer and First Team All-Big Ten senior Brooke Ferrell was named the Big Ten Conference Golfer of the Week Wednesday after her performance and win at the Cardinal Cup in Simpsonville, Kentucky late last week. The senior will look to back up arguably the best outing of her career in Madison as the Badgers travel to the UCF Challenge in Orlando, Florida in early February to begin the spring season.
Ferrell’s collective effort of 2-under for the tournament and 4-under 68 in the second round was enough to earn her the third Big Ten Golfer of the Week award of her career and closed out a successful season for the Badgers. After starting off slow with a 3-over 75 in the first round, the Edgerton, Wisconsin native roared back to close out the tournament with a combined 4-under in the final two rounds to secure her first-ever solo title.
Ferrell came close a season ago at the same event when she was unable to shoot ahead at the end and tied for first. The Badger senior followed up her performance last year with a strong start and separate Big Ten Golfer of the Week honors with a tie for first at the 2016 Westbrook Invitational earlier this season.
With a standout season a year ago, Ferrell has firmly established herself as the leader on this team and will most likely continue to make headlines as the team heads into the spring. While golf is an individual sport, the Badgers will hope to give the senior a better supporting cast as their leader heads into her final semester.
Ferrell has been one of the most consistent female golfers in Wisconsin history, leading the team this season at 72.3 strokes per round and posting a program season best 73.25 a year ago. While the school has not had an especially storied past, Ferrell led the team in scoring for three straight years and finished third in the Big Ten Championships and tied at 59th in the NCAA regionals a season ago.
The headline come spring will be whether Ferrell can make some postseason headlines and capture the elusive Big Ten title that she fell just short of a year ago. All in all, her win at the Cardinal Cup is a good sign moving forward for her and the Wisconsin program.
