The Ole Miss women’s golf team placed second at The Bruzzy Challenge in Argyle, Texas, after a bout of tough competition.
Four Rebels shot a combined 856 over three rounds each, good for 8 under par and only two shots behind the eventual champion, No. 35 Baylor. The finish came in the face of top-level competition, as seven other ranked teams participated.
Sophomore Conner Beth Ball swings the club at The Bruzzy Challenge in Argyle, Texas earlier this week. She finished eighth in the final standings. Photo courtesy Ole Miss Athletics.
Two Rebels led the way for Ole Miss with top-10 finishes. Ellen Hutchinson-Kay excelled and finished tied for eighth with her final 2-under score of 214, a career-low score for the freshman, after she moved up 13 spots on the final day. Sophomore Conner Beth Ball also shot a 214 and tied for eighth in the final standings. This was the fourth top-10 finish of the season for the former All-SEC freshman.
“Today was the first day this semester that I felt like I was playing my game again,” Ball said on the first day of the weekend’s competition. “Today, as a team, we clicked, and we’re ready to finish strong tomorrow. The mindset is continuing to stay aggressive and make more birdies.”
Extremely windy conditions on the final day allowed for lots of movement across the leaderboard. The No. 41 Rebels entered the final day in first place at 18 under par overall, but the tough weather caused much higher scores than the first day.
Junior Kennedy Swann and freshman Macy Somoskey each entered the final round tied for ninth, but they dropped to 28th and 36th respectively after difficult final rounds. Both still placed in the top half of the field of 84.
“The conditions were tough today with gusty winds, and unfortunately, we faltered a little at the end of our round after making a great run for the win,” head coach Kory Henkes told Ole Miss Athletics. “Anytime you are in contention, it is valuable learning experience for our young team. We played with a lot of heart this week, and we are proud of the progress we are making as we approach the post-season.”
Baylor shot a final-round best of 3 over 291 to hold on as Ole Miss and Texas Tech dropped below. However, the Rebels were still encouraged by their play earlier in the weekend, especially by their record score of 276 in the first round. The 12-under 276 was the lowest single-round score in program history, although the team was still two strokes behind Texas Tech after the first day.
However, Ole Miss parlayed its record score into its runner-up finish ahead of teams like No. 2 Texas and No. 19 TCU.
The Ole Miss women’s golf team’s next competition, the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, will begin next Thursday, April 11, in Athens, Georgia. This is the team’s last tournament before post-season play begins.
While the women’s team competed in Texas, men’s golf had the weekend off as they prepare for the Old Waverly tournament in West Point, Mississippi, which will be hosted by Mississippi State in less than two weeks.
In the meantime, freshman Jackson Suber was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for his performance at the Hootie in Charleston, South Carolina. The Tampa, Florida, native shot a 218 over the weekend, good for 2 under and the best score on the Ole Miss team. This was the second time this season Suber has led the Rebels.
Both Ole Miss teams will look to perform well in the coming days and weeks as the post-season gets underway in late April.
