Ole Miss Women’s Golf hosted the Magnolia Invitational (Oct. 14-16) this week at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point. The final round of the tournament was cancelled due to heavy rain, making the results after the first two rounds final. Ole Miss shot a two day total of 580(+4) finishing in fourth place, nine shots behind Kennesaw State, who head home as the 2018 Magnolia Invitational champs.
The Rebels were looking to repeat their victory in the 2017 Magnolia Invitational, in which they shot an impressive 854(-10) to win by seven shots. Last year, Julia Johnson shot (-7) and defeated Memphis’ Abby Herrmann in a playoff to win the 2017 Magnolia Invitational individual title.
Kie Purdom drives the ball during a Women’s Golf practice earlier this season. Photo courtesy: Petre Thomas/Ole Miss Athletics
Ole Miss opened with a first round 289(+1), putting them only one shot back of the lead after day one. Conner Beth Ball led the Rebels, shooting an opening round 71(-1). Johnson and Pi-Lillebi Hermansson also got off to solid starts, shooting even par 72.
“We are proud of the way the team played today,” head coach Kory Henkes told olemisssports.com following the opening round 289. “We came out of the gates strong and only made a couple costly mistakes down the stretch. … At the end of the day it’s always nice to put yourself in contention after round one.”
The Rebels struggled down the stretch on day two, shooting a team total of 291(+3). Ole Miss slid one spot down to fourth, nine shots behind first place. Ellen Hutchison-Kay had the best round of the day for the Rebels, shooting a 71(-1) and finishing T16th. Connor Beth Ball had another solid day, shooting an even par 72 and finishing T10th.
“We were disappointed that we weren’t able to play the final round due to weather, but that is something that is out of our control,” Coach Kory Henkes told olemisssports.com. “It shows that every round is important and you have to do your best each time you tee it up.”
Ole Miss’ fourth place outing at the Magnolia Invitational comes off the heels of a second place finish at the Ron Moore Invitational last weekend in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. The team shot a total of 871(+7) with Conner Beth Ball placing T2nd in the individual standings.
The Rebels will now hit the road to play in the Cardinal Cup (Oct. 20-21) hosted by Louisville at the University of Louisville Golf Course in Louisville, Kentucky. The Cardinal Cup will be one of the final two tourneys on the fall schedule for the Rebels, as they finish the fall portion in two weeks at the Jim West Challenge.
