SAN FRANCISCO — The Ole Miss women’s golf team earned a berth in the NCAA Championship for the first time in the program’s 32-year history Wednesday at TPC Harding Park.
Led by a stellar 5-under (67) round by SEC Freshman of the Year Julia Johnson, Ole Miss shot 2-under in the third round to finish at 1-under par for the tournament (290-287-286–863). The Rebels finished third, six strokes ahead of the sixth-place cutline, and trailed only No. 5 Stanford and No. 1 UCLA.
“It was absolutely incredible to see all the girls pull through,” Ole Miss coach Kory Henkes. “Everyone just stayed calm, cool, and collected and came out and did what we needed to do today. To finish third in this strong field, it’s amazing.”
Ole Miss entered the day tied for fourth and closed with its strongest round of the tournament. All five Ole Miss players finished inside the top 50. All 15 of their individual rounds were 2-over par or better.
Johnson had the best round of her career in the biggest round of her career, including a birdie on No. 18. Thanks to her final-round 67, she wrapped up a tournament score of 210, one stroke off her career-best, to tie for third.
“It was fun today,” Johnson said. “It was a little bit less pressure, just because this could’ve been the last round of the year. My goal was just to go out and have fun. I know everyone says that, but I really did have fun today. Coach Kory never really left my side, and I loved that. Anytime she does that for me, I know we’re going to put a good round up.”
Johnson finished ahead of three of the top five players in the World Amateur Golf rankings: UCLA’s Lilia Vu (No. 1), Stanford’s Albane Valenzuela (No. 4), and Stanford’s Andrea Lee (No. 5).
“It was one of those days where it could’ve been a 64,” Henkes said. “That’s how good she was. Her ball striking just top notch. I was really proud of Julia. She has a lot of grit. When it’s time to get things done, she really knows how to do it.”
Conner Beth Ball, who joined Johnson on this year’s SEC All-Freshman Team, shot even par to finish tied for 27th. Ball fired three birdies to overcome a double-bogey on No. 11 and wrapped up the tournament at 2-over. The Rebels had just two double-bogeys on the tournament.
Senior Katy Harris also tied for 27th. She birdied her final hole to finish 1-over and all-but seal the deal for the Rebels. Beginning on the 10th hole in Round 2, Harris played 24 straight holes bogey-free, going 2-under par in that span.
Pi-Lillebi Hermansson and Kie Purdom shot 2-over to tie for the final counting score. Hermansson was 1-over (217) for the tournament, one stroke off her career-best, and finished tied for 22nd. Purdom led the field with 46 pars, including 23 straight at one point, and finished 6-over and tied for 48th, carding 2-over rounds on all three days of the tournament.
“It’s been the most unbelievable year,” Johnson said. “For everyone to play well this week and have good rounds is amazing. It’s been amazing year. I wouldn’t have wanted it to end here. It’s going to end where we want it to end — and hopefully on the last day.”
Ole Miss will compete in the NCAA Championships on May 18-23 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Alabama women win NCAA Tallahassee Regional with record performance
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Alabama women’s golf team turned in a 15-under par final round to win the NCAA Tallahassee Regional on Wednesday.
The victory clinches the program’s 14th NCAA Championship appearance and 13th consecutive trip under coach Mic Potter.
The Crimson Tide (282-276-273–831) finished 33-under par at the par-72, 6,342-yard Don Veller Seminole Golf Course and Club to set a new school regional record and equal the previous course record.
In addition to the 54-hole record regional score, Alabama’s -15 final round is its single round regional low and low score vs. par.
The victory is the fourth of the season for the Crimson Tide, which equals the second-most in school history, and the fourth regional title in the last eight years (2011, 2013, 2017).
Junior Lauren Stephenson (67-69-66–202) and sophomore Kristen Gillman (72-68-66–206) were 6-under par Wednesday. The scores equal the previous school low round of 66 set by Jennifer Kirby and Stephanie Meadow at the 2013 NCAA East Regional at Auburn, Alabama.
“We got off to a slow start and Florida State jumped out ahead of us early on,” Potter said. “But we stayed patient and the birdies started to come. I think this was a good golf course for us because we drive the ball where we want to most of the time. That opens up some shots for us. That gave us some room to work with on our approaches.”
Stephenson finished second overall at 14-under par, which is also a new school record in regional play. Gillman tied for fourth with a 10-under par score that included four birdies and an eagle on the back nine Wednesday.
Junior Cheyenne Knight (72-68-69–209) tied for ninth at -7 after a 3-under par final round. Freshman Angelica Moresco (71-71-73–215) was 2-over par on the day and tied for 23rd at -1. Senior Lakareber Abe (76-75-72–223) tied for 51st at 7-over par.
Alabama battled host Florida State (286-277-276/839) throughout the final round, as the Seminoles turned in a 12-under par day to finish second at -25. Alabama pulled away on the back nine as its top four scorers finished -13 after the turn to seal the eight-shot victory.
Furman (280-283-283–846) finished third at -18 while Arizona (290-281-282–853) and Washington (273-289-292–854) finished fourth and fifth at -11 and -10, respectively.
After tying for sixth at -5, Wake Forest (285-289-285–859) beat Clemson (285-279-295–859) on the fourth playoff hole to clinch the regional’s final spot in the NCAA Championships.
“If we can putt better, I think we have a chance to play well next week,” Potter added. “I would just like to see us continue to stay relax and let our natural abilities come through. We just have to keep picking targets, hit them and then hit them again.”
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