Kelby ZendejasThe Ole Miss women’s golf team will travel to Athens, Ga., this weekend to compete in the 49th annual Liz Murphey Classic hosted by the Georgia Bulldogs.
Featuring all 14 SEC schools as well as Louisville, Southern California, and the College of Charleston, the tournament will tee off on Friday, March 19, and will last the entire weekend, concluding at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 21.
As usual, the Rebels will face a tough competition between the hedges. The tournament will feature nine teams that currently rank in the top-25. Sitting at No. 6 in the country, the Rebels will compete against notable teams such as No. 3 South Carolina, No. 4 LSU, No. 11 Southern California, No. 12 Auburn and No. 13 Georgia.
The women will look to use their experience from facing off against tough competition in their last tournament at the Gamecock Collegiate to improve on their game. During the tournament, the Rebels struggled to start off but finished strong on their last day to place 8th overall. The Rebels finished with a team score of 881 (294-299-293) over 54 holes.
“This was a championship-caliber field this week, and we simply just didn’t play our best golf this week,” Ole Miss head coach Kory Henkes said. “We made a lot of mistakes that we don’t normally make, and it cost us. In this type of field, you can’t get away with the type of errors that we had.
A likely leader for the Rebelsis senior Julia Johnson, who finished the last tournament placing 10th overall and leading the team in 10 birdies and par 5 scores (-2). Additionally, sophomore Andrea Lignell will look to continue her streak of four top-20 finishes with her strong par 4 (E) performance in the last tournament. Freshman Smilla Sonderby gained valuable experience in the Gamecock Collegiate as well. It was her second collegiate performance, and she contributed to the overall score of the team with a career low score.
The Bulldogs also attended the Gamecock Collegiate, placing right behind the Rebels at No. 9 with a final score of 887 (301-288-298). The Bulldogs shot a final round of 298 with team leader Caterina Don finishing the final round with a 1-under. Don finished in a tie for 29th place, while teammate Jenny Bae finished tied at the 15th slot.
The Liz Murphey Classic will begin this Friday, March 19, with a tee time of 8:30 a.m.
