STARKVILLE — Mississippi State women’s golf coach Ginger Brown-Lemm has had a little time to put this week together.
Three years in the making, MSU — with some help from Ole Miss — will play host to the inaugural Magnolia Invitational at Old Waverly Golf Course in West Point.
The three-day event begins at 7:30 a.m. today.
“We are excited and humbled to be hosting a tournament,” Brown-Lemm said. “Old Waverly is one of the premier courses, and to be able to showcase that course and our program is special.”
The MSU women will play host to a home tournament for the first time since they played host to the Old Waverly Bulldog Invitational in 2014. The MSU men will play host to the Old Waverly Collegiate on April 16-17, 2018, at the course.
This week’s field includes MSU, Ole Miss, Auburn, Augusta University, Kansas State, LSU, Memphis, Southern Mississippi, Tennessee, and Troy.
A chance meeting between Ole Miss coach Kory Henkes and Brown-Lemm led to the event coming to fruition.
“For so many years, Ole Miss and Mississippi State have done their own tournaments,” Henkes said. “When we took over this job two years ago, we spoke with (Brown-Lemm) at a tournament said, ‘You know what, why don’t we combine forces and make a great event here in the state of Mississippi and showcase the great golf course we have here at Old Waverly?’ ”
That mission will be accomplished this week.
Teams arrived Friday and had the option of practice rounds Friday and Saturday. Monday’s second round will start at 8:30 a.m., while the final round Tuesday will start with a shotgun start at 8 a.m.
Admission to the event is free.
Freshman Aubree Jones will lead MSU. Jones is ranked 51st nationally by golfweek.com. She had a top-20 finish last week in the Schooner Fall Classic after placing third at The Ocean Course Invitational in her collegiate debut.
MSU also will feature sophomores Athena Young and Clara Moyano and juniors Kendall Wisenbaker and Katie Holt. The individual competition will include MSU players Teri Doss, Ela Grimwood, Blaise Carabello, and Jackson native Blair Stockett, who will make her MSU debut.
“We have played well in the first two tournaments,” Brown-Lemm said. “The future is very bright for our program. We look forward to competing at home. You always have a higher comfort level at home.”
Ole Miss will feature freshmen Julia Johnson and Madison’s Conner Beth Ball, sophomore Pi-Lillebi Hermansson, and juniors Kie Purdom and Diane Lim. This will be Lim’s first start of the season.
Individuals from Ole Miss include Katy Harris, Laura Hoskin, Martina Flori, and Macy Holliday.
Ole Miss placed fifth at The Ocean Invitational and 12th at the Furman-hosted Lady Paladin Invitational. MSU placed 10th at The Ocean Invitational and 14th at the Oklahoma-hosted Schooner Classic.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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