Ethan Wright
With a fifth-place team finish and all-tournament honors for freshman Conner Beth Ball, the Ole Miss women’s golf team had a strong showing in the Ocean Course Invitational, which concluded Tuesday in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
The Rebels started off hot, building a first-place lead going into the final round after shooting even par in the prior two rounds. The final round, however, was Ole Miss’ greatest foe, with windy conditions keeping every team above par on the day. The Rebels concluded their impressive output at Kiawah Island with a three-way tie for fifth place at 292-292-309.
Even with the final-round struggle, Ole Miss made a statement, nearly taking its first team tournament win in nine years. In her collegiate debut, Ball led the Rebels shooting 4-under in the tournament and saw her name in the top three on individual scorecards. The Madison native came out of the gates strong on the weekend, shooting an eye-catching 68 (-5) in the opening round to give the Rebels an early lead.
“Conner Beth had a terrific collegiate debut,” Ole Miss head coach Kory Henkes praised. “She played confident golf and really kept a great attitude all day. She thrives on competition, and it showed (in the first round) with her performance.”
Ball’s stellar debut is impressive enough, considering her young age and lack of collegiate experience, but her outing becomes even more astounding when considering the competition’s talent. With multiple highly ranked teams and a number of top-100 amateur talents on the course, Ball was still able to distance herself from the field, only falling below two other golfers – one of whom ranks third overall in amateur ranking.
Apart from Ball’s star-making play from, other Rebels also played on a nationally respected level over the weekend. Junior Kie Purdom, who finished the weekend second on the team, was one of only eight players in the entire tournament to shoot under par in the final round and ended up finishing with the best tournament and single-round performances of her career.
Ball’s fellow freshman Julia Johnson, also put up an impressive debut with a top-two 38 pars on the tournament. Johnson especially flexed her potential in the second round with a two under par 71. Pi-Lillebi Hermansson, a sophomore, also shot a 71 in the second round, finishing in the top 30 overall.
“We played solidly as a team today,” Henkes said. “We had a game plan going into the tournament, and the team really stuck to it. We are proud of everyone for their attitude and efforts. Our freshmen, Conner Beth and Julia, were impressive and came out of the gate strong. Pi and Julia had a nice bounce-back round, and Kie posted one of her top collegiate rounds (on Tuesday), as well.”
Ole Miss’ play over the weekend – red-hot start, struggling finish and all – points to a potentially special season. If the freshmen, led by Ball and Johnson, can improve even more with experience, they will prove a potent young force in the upcoming season. The veterans and head coach Henkes will be important factors in shepherding these young stars and developing them into the next class of amateur standouts.
The Rebels will compete next Sept. 22 in Greenville, South Carolina.
