University of Missouri
Mercer University
Women’s Golf Opens Spring Season This Weekend
2/14/2019 9:46:00 AM | Women's Golf
Tigers Head to Georgia to Play in Lake Oconee Invitational
GREENSBORO, GA. – With snow in the forecast for mid-Missouri this weekend, it may be hard for golf nuts to conjure up images of freshly mowed fairways and pristine greens. However, that is exactly what the Mizzou Women's Golf team will be experiencing this weekend, as they open their 2019 spring season in Greensboro, Ga., at the Lake Oconee Invitational. The 17-team tournament will be played Feb. 16-17 at The National course, a unique Tom Fazio design that features three distinct nine-hole layouts. Teams will play 27 holes each day to determine the champion in what is Mizzou's first-ever appearance at the tournament.
After a solid fall season, Mizzou opens the spring season ranked 55th in the Golf Stat team rankings, and Head Coach Stephanie Priesmeyer is excited to see her team get rolling in a new environment.
"We are always looking forward to the start of each season," said Priesmeyer, who is in her 18th year guiding her alma mater's program. "This is a new venue for us so it's always exciting to see a new place, and we've heard a lot of highly positive comments about the course and the area. Everyone has worked hard since the end of the fall season, and I'm eager to see them tee it up," she said.
Priesmeyer's squad turned in top-10 team finishes in each of their last three fall outings, including a team title at Johnie Imes Invitational in October. Her lineup this weekend will have a similar look to the fall, with standouts Emma Allen (Sr. – Southampton, England) and Jessica Yuen (Jr. – Bolingbrook, Ill.) manning the top two spots, respectively. Allen notched her first collegiate win at the Imes with a three-round 211 (67-71-73), while Yuen has been a model of consistency, turning in four-straight top-10 showings to close the fall. Yuen is ranked 44th in the nation by Golf Stat entering the spring campaign, and is also ranked 14th in the Palmer Cup Standings.
Senior Amanda Kim (O'Fallon, Mo.) enters the spring coming off her most successful fall season ever, and looks to give the Tigers some punch from the number three spot in the lineup. In the number four spot will be freshman Keagan Dunn, a native of Braselton, Ga., who will have the distinction of making her first collegiate start in her home state. Dunn tied for 50th individually at the Imes back in October, but this will be her first time as a "counter," and Priesmeyer said that Dunn has earned the opportunity.
"This will be Keagan's first start in the lineup, so I'm sure she'll be anxious but I know her teammates will do a great job of helping her out," said Priesmeyer. "She has worked really hard for this opportunity and it will be fun to watch her out there in her home state," she said.
Playing in the five hole will be Cayce Hendrickson (Sr. – Benton, Ky.), a veteran who had a pair of top-25 showings in the fall and can go low in any given round to boost the team fortunes.
Junior Cherise Otter (Bloomington, Ind.), who started all five fall tournaments, will be out for an undetermined time after having surgery to remove a cyst in her wrist last month. She's expected to recover in time to be available by mid-March.
Priesmeyer said that the weather forecast for the tournament isn't exactly ideal, but the flipside is that her team is always accustomed to playing in sloppy conditions.
"This is a good tournament for us to get started with for the spring," she said. "The weather isn't supposed to be great, but I look at that as an advantage for us since we have a lot of practice in cold, rainy conditions. Having a good attitude and being patient will be important for us," she said.
Competition begins each day with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. (Eastern Time). Live stats are available online at: http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=15878
For all the latest on Mizzou Women's Golf, stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter (@MUWomensGolf) and on Facebook at MizzouWomensGolf.
Players Mentioned
