Taylor Hill
Petre Thomas/Ole Miss Athletics.
The Lady Rebels Golf team competed in the Clemson Invitational Friday, March 22 through Saturday, March 24 in Sunset, S.C. The tournament had stiff competition, including five top-25 teams: reigning champions and No. 13 Ole Miss, 2023 runner-up and No. 5 LSU, No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 20 Clemson and No. 23 Vanderbilt.
Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio State, Maryland, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Miami, Furman, Augusta and University of North Carolina Wilmington filled out the rest of the field.
The Lady Rebels closed out the opening day of the tournament in 10th place, shooting a 292 (+4). The Rebels had the most pars in the field and ranked second in par five shooting at The Reserve at Lake Keowee course.
Natacha Host Husted led the Rebels with two-under at the end of round one and ended the day tied for ninth place. She also led the field in par five shooting with a four-under as she continued to play the course.
Chipping into day two, the Lady Rebels shot a five-over 293 and moved up one spot on the overall team leaderboard to ninth place. The Rebels sat tied for ninth place after the second round, sitting at a nine-over (585) at the end of day two.
Nicole Gal came back from a rough opening day to shoot an even par. She was one-over through 11 holes and hit three straight birdies to excel in her second round.
Capping the Clemson Invitational for the end of the regular season, the Rebels finished in eighth after shooting a total of 874 (+10). Ole Miss ended the weekend with the most pars on the field at 189 and finished in third place in par five scoring.
Host Husted boosted herself up to tie for fifth place in the individual scoreboard with a 212 (-4) over the three-day tournament. This marked the junior’s second consecutive top-five finish. Fellow junior Caitlyn Macnab ended the tournament tied for 40th place with a score of 221 (+5), capping off a successful first regular season as a Rebel.
Andrea Lignell came back from a tough second round, shooting a 72 (E), tying for 48th place with an overall of 222 (+6). The senior’s round-three execution marks the 13th round this season in which she shot even or below par.
The youngest of the Lady Rebels, Sophie Linder and Gal ended the weekend separated by one stroke on the final leader board. Linder finished tied for 63rd place with a 226 (+10), while Gal scored a 227 (+11) and tied for 70th place.
Justine Fournand shot a three-round score of 218 (+2) and tied for 24th place when competing individually for the Rebels.
The Rebels will now focus their attention on postseason play, heading to Belleair, Fla., next for the SEC Championship held at the Pelican Golf Club. The tournament will be held April 12-16.
