Mississippi won’t be sneaking up on anybody this spring.
A year ago, the Rebels were ranked 35th when they
got into the match-play bracket in the Southeastern Conference Championship as
the eight seed. Then they got on a serious roll that didn’t end until they had
won the SEC crown for the first time in program history and then reached the
NCAA Championship after getting through the Norman Regional as a nine seed.
Ole Miss, No. 12 in the latest Golfstat rankings,
fired a 4-under-par 284 in the final round of the Moon Golf Invitational at
Duran Golf Club in Melbourne, Fla. Tuesday to earn a 4-shot victory with a
6-under 858 total.
Two of the Rebels who were such a big part of last spring’s
magical run, Julia Johnson, a junior from St. Gabriel, La., and Kennedy Swann,
a senior from Austin, Texas, were there in Melbourne Tuesday to help raise the
Moon Golf Invitational trophy. So was sophomore Ellen Hutchinson-Kay of Sweden
who gained so much experience as a freshman on the road to the NCAA
Championship at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.
But there are reinforcements in a couple of talented freshmen
and the victory at Duran was Ole Miss’ fourth in the wraparound 2019-2020
season.
The Rebels opened with a 1-over 289 in the morning session
of Monday’s scheduled double-round that wasn’t quite completed when darkness
fell. Ole Miss returned to Duran Tuesday morning and completed a 3-under 285
that gave it a three-shot lead heading into the final round.
The Rebels kept it going with another sub-par round to hold
off No. 50 Augusta, which matched Ole Miss for the low round of the tournament
with a 4-under 284 of its own over the 6,279-yard, par-72 Duran layout in the
final round to earn runnerup honors with a 3-under 861 total.
No. 38 Louisville, the tournament host out of the Atlantic
Coast Conference, closed with a 1-under 287 to finish in third place at
even-par 864, three shots behind Augusta.
The Cardinals’ ACC rival, No. 34 North Carolina, led by a
solid showing from senior Brynn Walker, Pennsylvania’s best player during her
scholastic career at Radnor, got a share of fourth place with Ole Miss’ SEC
rival Alabama, at No. 9 the highest-ranked team in the field, at 3-over 867,
three shots behind Louisville.
North Carolina completed a 3-over 291 Tuesday morning and
trailed Ole Miss by just three shots going into the final round before closing
with a 2-over 290. Alabama matched the low round of the tournament with its
opening-round 284 and completed a 5-over 293 Tuesday morning. Like North
Carolina, the Crimson Tide trailed Ole Miss by three shots and, like the Tar
Heels, closed with a 2-over 290.
No. 31 Furman, behind a 1-2 finish in the individual
standings from a couple of Spartanburg, S.C. standouts, senior Natalie
Srinivasan, No. 45 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and
freshman Anna Morgan, ended up alone in sixth place at 6-over 870, three shots
behind North Carolina and Alabama, after closing with an even-par 288.
Another SEC entry, No. 21 Kentucky, closed with a solid
2-under 286 to finish seventh in the strong 16-team field with a 9-over 873
total, three shots behind Furman.
Ole Miss was led by one of its freshmen, Chiara Tamburlini
of Switzerland, who was part of a trio of players tied for third place in the
individual standings at 5-under 211. Tamburlini was the Rebels’ medalist for
the day with a 3-under 69. She had opened with a 2-under 70 and put the
finishing touches on an even-par 72 Tuesday morning.
Johnson and Swann landed in the group tied for 14th
place at 1-over 217. Johnson finished up a 2-under 70 Tuesday morning, a round that
included four birdies in her last seven holes, before closing with a 2-over 74
that was a throw-out for the Rebels. Swann completed a 1-under 71 Tuesday
morning with two birdies in her last four holes, before finishing up with a
1-over 73.
Johnson completed the Rebels’ fall campaign in early November
by firing a spectacular 11-under 61 at Club Campestre San Jose, matching an
NCAA single-round record, as she won the individual title and led Old Miss to the team crown
in the Battle at the Beach in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico.
Another Rebels’ freshman, Andrea Lignell of Sweden, finished
in the group tied for 21st place at 2-over 218. Her back-to-back
even-par 72s in the second and third rounds were key counters for Ole Miss.
Hutchinson-Kay rounded out the Ole Miss lineup, closing with
a 2-under 70, the Rebels’ second-best score in the third round, to finish among
the group tied for 41st place at 6-over 222.
Furman’s Srinivasan pulled away from the field with a
six-birdie, one-bogey masterpiece for a final round of 5-under 67 that gave her
a 10-under 206 total. She had opened with a 1-under 71 and returned to the
course Tuesday morning to complete a 4-under 68 in the second round.
Srinivasan, like Louisville senior Lauren Hartlage, was one
of the players invited to audition for the U.S. Curtis Cup team in a practice session
at Loblolly in Hobe Sound, Fla. in December. Performances like this week’s at
Duran only bolster her resume in her bid to represent her country against Great
Britain & Ireland in June at Conwy Golf Club in Caernarvonshire, Wales in
June.
Her teammate Morgan was the best player in the field Monday,
opening with a 5-under 67 and returning to the golf course Tuesday morning to
complete a 3-under 69 that left her at 8-under heading into the final round.
Morgan closed with a 2-over 74, but still held on for second place with a
6-under 210 total, four shots behind Srinivasan.
Joining Ole Miss’ Tamburlini in the trio tied for third
place at 5-under 211, a shot behind Morgan, were Augusta’s Linda Lundqvist, a
senior from Sweden, and Alabama’s Polly Mack, a junior from Germany. Lundqvist
closed with a 3-under 69 while Mack finished up with a solid 2-under 70.
Finishing in a tie for sixth place at 3-under 213 were Old
Dominion’s Leah Onosato, a sophomore from Japan, Florida junior college power Seminole
State’s Mihori Nagano, a freshman who also hails from Japan, Louisville’s Hanna
Ryskova, a freshman from the Czech Republic, and Campbell’s Annna Nordfors, a
sophomore from Sweden.
Onosato moved up the leaderboard with a 3-under 69 in the
final round, Ryskova and Nordfors each matched par with a final-round 72 and
Nagano, who had moved into contention by matching the low round of the tournament
in the second round with a 67, closed with a 1-over 73.
It was a nice start to the spring portion of her senior
season for North Carolina’s Walker, winner of the PIAA Class AAA Championship
in 2014 and 2015. After opening with a 1-over 73, Walker returned to the course
Tuesday morning and finished off a 1-under 71 and then added another 71 in the
final round to finish in a tie for 10th place with Louisville’s
Hartlage at 1-under 215.
Hartlage, No. 48 in the Women’s WAGR, finished strong with a
3-under 69 to join Walker at 215.
Walker led a solid showing by the Tar Heels. Kayla Smith, a
freshman from Burlington, N.C., backed up Walker by finishing in a tie for 14th
place at 1-over 217 after closing with a 1-over 73.
Jennifer Zhou, a sophomore from China, matched par in the
final round with a 72 to join the group tied for 21st place at
2-over 218. Krista Junkkari, a freshman from Finland, was the final counter for
the Tar Heels Tuesday with a 2-over 74 that left her in the group tied for 29th
place at 3-over 219.
Rounding out the North Carolina lineup was Mariana Ocano, a
senior from St. Petersburg, Fla. who got off to a good start with an opening-round
71. But Ocano fell back with a 75 in the second round before closing with a 76
that left her among the group tied for 41st place at 6-over 222.
Nicole Lu, a sophomore from Taiwan, competed as an individual,
but made a pretty good case for a spot in the first five. Lu closed with a
2-over 74 to join her teammate Zhou in the group tied for 21st place
at 2-over 218.
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