Sarah Miesle | Saint Mary's College

Senior Hannah Buck tees off during the second round of the O’Brien National Invitational on Monday. Buck finished tied for fifth place after shooting a 156 (74, 82) as the Bears held off a talented field for a second-place finish.

On paper, the field for this weekend’s O’Brien National Invitational was intimidating, to say the least.

When it left South Bend, Ind., on Monday afternoon, the No. 5 Washington University women’s golf team had to like where it stood.

In a tournament featuring 10 of the top 15 teams in the country, the Bears shot 640 over two days to finish in second place, seven strokes behind top-ranked and 15-time defending national champion Methodist University.

Senior Hannah Buck led the way with a 156, tying for fifth place, thanks in part to a round one score of 74 (+2). Buck also tied for the tournament lead with three birdies.

“I changed my swing on Thursday, so not surprisingly my consistency isn’t really there. [Sunday]’s round was very eventful, lots of ups and downs. [It was] maybe the ugliest 74 you’ll ever see, but it worked,” Buck said. “[Monday] I just had a rough start. I was +6 after five holes and luckily was able to turn it around. My swing is a work in progress right now, but I’m optimistic about it.”

Sophomore Olivia Lugar was one stroke behind Buck at 157, good for a tie for seventh place. She has now shot 80 or lower at 26 of her 28 career tournaments.

Freshman Connie Zhou continued the strong start to her rookie campaign with a two-day 160 (83, 77). She has an average round score of 80 through her first two tournaments, resulting in two top-15 finishes, including a tie for 11th at the O’Brien.

“I wasn’t too nervous at all; if anything, I was excited. Coach [Sean Curtis] stresses the fact that you never know how anyone else is playing, so you just have to play your own game,” Zhou said. “I try not to put a lot of pressure on myself and go out there and enjoy my round.”

Junior Andi Hibbert finished with a 167 (87, 80), and freshman Erin Lawrence made her starting lineup debut by shooting 171 (89, 82). Senior Melanie Walsh competed as an individual for Wash. U. in her first action since the spring of 2011 and shot 177 (88, 89).

No. 3 Centre College was just one stroke behind the Bears with 641, and No. 2 DePauw University came in fourth place with 649. No. 6 University of Wisconsin Eau-Claire finished in fifth place, shooting 659.

“[The field] was very competitive. All the teams we saw this weekend we’ll see at nationals,” Buck said.

On top of that challenge was the difficulty of the course, which is on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. The average round score over two days was 85.29.

Sarah Miesle | Saint Mary's College

Freshman Connie Zhou watches a putt roll into the hole during the second round of the O’Brien National Invitational. Zhou is off to a strong start to her freshman year, averaging a score of 80 per round.

“It was definitely challenging,” Zhou said. “The rough was thick, the greens were sloped, and on certain holes you had to be very accurate.”

Once again, the Red and Green exit a tournament knowing that they can score lower than they did. That said, nobody is anywhere close to pressing the panic button; after all, it is just two weeks into the season.

“Last year, we started the season so well and kind of ran out of steam later on. This year, I feel like we’re going to continue improving throughout the season. I feel like our team is building momentum,” Buck, a team captain, said. “I think individually we all have our own things to work on, which I think is a good thing because it’s still so early.”

Wash. U. will look to continue its upward trend at the Millikin Fall Classic next weekend in Decatur, Ill. The Bears fired two rounds below 300 at the Millikin last season, setting a new team record of 291 on Sept. 24 and firing 298 the next day. Lugar won the tournament with a two-round 145 (+1).