Oct. 14, 2011

By Julie Williams
Golfweek.com

It wasn't long after Jay Goble arrived in Waco, Texas that he realized he had something special in his gritty, grinding Baylor team. Goble saw the talent and the work ethic the first time they all came together, and a few months later, the rest of the competition is beginning to realize it, too.

Fresh off a three-year assistant coaching stint at Florida, Goble has the reigns of his own team for the first time. He says it's been a smooth transition, and the results support that statement.

In three starts this season Baylor has finished sixth at the season-opening Ptarmigan Ram Classic and won back-to-back events at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational and Price's "Give 'Em Five" Intercollegiate. The Bears are No. 24 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings.

"The main thing that we kept talking about the whole week (at the Price's "Give 'Em Five") was we were probably the highest ranked team in the field so we felt like we had a little bit of a target on our back anyway," Goble said. "We talked a lot about fighting through the rounds."

Even without live scoring, Goble knew his team suffered a rough start in each of the final two rounds, getting to as many as 8 over in the opening holes. Both days, the Bears rebounded to post 2-under 286. Baylor narrowly held off Idaho, which shot 285 in the final round, to finish with a one-shot victory.

To read the rest of Julie's piece on the Lady Bears, click here.