A winding path at the Badgers Invitational welcomed the Michigan women’s golf team to the 2026-2027 season. Despite shrinking in the second round after a dominant first, the Wolverines recovered with a solid finish in round three.
Scoring 283-306-292 (+17), Michigan’s younger players were held afloat by junior Thomasine Bartholdson, who ultimately led the Wolverines to a sixth-place finish.
Bringing a fresh wave of talent, Michigan’s three freshmen Amanda Revuelta, Martha Kuwahara and Guia Acutis made their collegiate debut at the invitational. Revuelta tied for 55th with a 229, while Kuwahara and Acutis — who competed as an individual — finished neck and neck at 73rd with a 234.
“Theres a lot of excitement, they bring a lot of depth to our team,” Wolverines coach Jan Dowling said. “They love college golf, they love competing, and they’ve been a great addition to our program.”
Acutis and Revuelta each boast a wealth of international experience. Actuis captured two amateur Italian championships in 2024 and 2025, and Revuelta earned back to back European Team championships with Spain in 2025 and 2026. Even without the international accolades, Kuwahara’s high school career consisted of plenty of achievements across the Midwest.
Michigan came out forceful on Sunday, establishing itself right behind the leader of the 16-team pack as it posted a 283 (-5) score. Bartholdson and sophomore Reese Ng both proved effective, tying for fourth with a score of 70.
Monday brought about rain and wind, disrupting the Wolverines’ hot start with an almost two-hour delay. With several players not executing at the same level as the first day, Michigan fell down the leaderboard, scoring a 306 (+18). Yet there was still opportunity for a resurgence, as it was only three strokes short of the podium.
“What I loved was their patience and discipline to stay in it,” Dowling said. “If we didn’t have that patience and discipline I don’t think we would have done that and come out with the third round we had.”
While the Wolverines regained their footing in the third round, it was Bartholdson who steered the helm and remained at the front of the pack. Just three shots off the lead despite the turbulence of day two, she remained in the race posting a second-round score of 73 (+1).
With one round remaining, the fate of Michigan’s success in the tournament rested on Bartholson’s shoulders.
Getting off to a competitive start, Bartholdson claimed her first birdie on hole three. Holding down her score, she followed up with four back-to-back pars before birdieing again on hole eight. Her symmetry throughout the course was reflected by earning a pair of birdies on the back nine, at holes 10 and 15. With a top-three finish well within grasp, she closed out her 19 holes with three-straight pars.
Finishing second out of 90 players also required shedding any excess off her score. To do so, Bartholdson didn’t score a single bogey on all 18 holes of her third round. All of this smart play from Bartholdson earned her a career-best score of 68 on a par-72 course. Her even scoring of 34 on both the front and back nine illustrates her success coming from skill rather than chance.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Dowling said. “She’s a very talented young woman who works very hard. Good things happen to people who work really hard.”
Finally seeing the fruits of her labour, and only two strokes off first place, Bartholdson held the Wolverines’ up on the leaderboard, slotting them in at a sixth-place finish.
Michigan weathered a scoring rollercoaster, but with the leadership of Bartholdson, it ultimately found success cracking open the new season.
