Kelby Zendejas
The Ole Miss women’s golf team finished as co-champions of the Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Florida, with an overall score of 856 (293-279-284). The Rebels earned their second straight runner-up finish after finishing in the same place at the Heroes Ladies Intercollegiate on Feb. 9.
The Florida Gators, co-champions of the tournament with the Rebels, finished with a total score of 856 (287-291-278) over the three days.
After trailing the Gators by as many as six strokes with four holes left, the key to the Rebels’ success was clutch birdies from senior golfer Julia Johnson during the final rounds. The Louisiana native finished at 2-under 208 (72-69-67) for her second-consecutive runner-up finish. Johnson also finished second in Ole Miss’s previous tournament with a final score of 207 (67-69-71) at the Intercollegiate.
This marks Johnson’s 13th career top-5 finish, with only one finish away from breaking the program record set by alumna Sarah Britt in 1989-93. Johnson finished with three birdies in the final five holes to lift the Rebels out of the deficit. She has also shot under par or better in four of her last five rounds.
Another contributor to the successful tournament was sophomore Andrea Lignell. The Sweden native finished with a total score of 213 (72-67-74), placing her in eighth place. In Lignell’s final round, she finished with a 74 (+4) to set her to tie for eight place with Vanderbilt’s Celina Sattelkau and Miami’s Renate Grimstad. This rank marks her first top-10 placement of the season and second of her career.
Following Lignell was senior Kennedy Swann, who tied for 15th place with UFC’s Tunrada Piddon, Kentucky’s Laney Frye, Alabama’s Kenzie Wright and Florida’s Jenny Kim. The senior finished with a total score of 217 (76-70-71) and put pressure on Florida with a birdie in her final hole as the Rebel’s were making their comeback. In addition, Swann finished second in the field in par-4 scoring with -3.
Sophomore Chiara Tamburlini and freshman Smilla Sonderby rounded out the team’s performance. Tamurlini finished in 20th place with a final total score of 218 (73-73-72), granting the Switzerland native’s fourth career top-20 finish. The sophomore also tallied in a 72 (+2) to finish out.
Sonderby tallied a total of 230 (76-76-78) during the freshman’s debut collegiate tournament.
The Rebels will travel to Columbia, South Carolina, for the Gamecock Intercollegiate on March 1-3 for their next tournament.
