University of Missouri
Westbrook Invitational
Women's Golf Finishes 13th at Westbrook Invitational
2/25/2019 3:24:00 PM | Women's Golf
Emma Allen Ties for 11th Individually; Keagan Dunn Fires Career-Best 18 and 54-hole Totals
PEORIA, AZ. – The Mizzou Women's Golf team finished up play today with their final round at the 2019 Westbrook Spring Invitational, played at the Westbrook Village Golf Club (Par 72 / 6,432 Yards). Mizzou finished in 13th place as a team with a 54-hole total of 871 (the team's second-best tournament score of the 2018-19 season), after team rounds of 289-291-291 in the 16-team field which featured 12 top-75 programs.
Tiger Senior Emma Allen (Southampton, England) led the way individually with a three-under par 213 total (69-70-74) that left her tied for 11th place overall. Her 42 pars in the three rounds was second-most in the 92-player field, just one off the lead. Allen, who averaged 2.92 scoring on par threes (tied for fourth-best in the tournament), missed her second top-10 finish of the season by just one shot, and was only three strokes from the top-five.
Head Coach Stephanie Priesmeyer's squad began the day in 11th place, only five shots out of fourth, but they were forced to play Monday without the services of 2018 All-SEC performer Jessica Yuen (Jr. – Bolingbrook, Ill.), who had to withdraw before the round due to an injured wrist. Yuen gutted out 36 holes Sunday with the discomfort, and tried to go Monday, but the pain was too much while warming up in the morning.
Freshman Keagan Dunn (Braselton, Ga.) did her best to fill the void, and she responded by turning in the performance of her young Tiger career to date, thanks in large part to a team-best 12 birdies over the tournament. Dunn tied for 35th with a 54-hole total of 218 (73-74-71), including Monday's one-under par 71 that marked the first sub-par round of her collegiate career. A long hitter, Dunn capitalized on the par fives all weekend, as she was nine-under par on those holes, while leading the field with an average of just 4.25 strokes on the fives. Her 218 total was 14 shots better than her previous best 54-hole score this season.
"We certainly had loftier goals coming in, but I was proud of the way everyone competed today knowing that Jess was out," said Priesmeyer. "They each stepped up and gave themselves a lot of chances at birdies that just wouldn't fall today. Emma couldn't get her putter hot today, but even with that, was very solid for us and that should benefit her confidence moving forward. Keagan utilized her length to take advantage of the par fives, and that's exactly what she brings to the table," she said.
Senior Cayce Hendrickson (Benton, Ky.) was close behind Dunn, with a three-round total of 220 (73-74-73) that put her in a tie for 48th overall. Hendrickson had a pair of birdies on Monday and after a double-bogey on her fifth hole of the day, she played her final 13 holes in one-under par.
Fellow senior Amanda Kim (O'Fallon, Mo.) carded a final-round one-over par 73 Monday to finish tied for 67th overall with a 54-hole total of 223 (77-73-73). Kim, who was also not 100 percent this weekend, due to hip and shoulder maladies, grinded out 40 pars which was tied for seventh-best in the field, while her 2.92 scoring average on par threes was tied for fourth-best in the tournament.
Yuen's absence left Priesmeyer with only four golfers to do the scoring, and while the rest of her lineup performed admirably, the void in the lineup was certainly a factor.
"Having a leader like Jess out is really challenging in a lot of ways, but you can't dwell on it and have it impact everybody else," said Priesmeyer. "I thought the rest of the ladies did a very nice job of not putting added pressure on themselves, and they just went out with the mindset of staying within their abilities and controlling what they could control," she said.
"Jess was really upset about not being able to play today, and that's why she's such a great competitor," said Priesmeyer. "But it was obvious she wasn't right, and we came to the proper decision in deciding to hold her out. It's for the best long-term, and now we have a few weeks to recover and hopefully get her healthy before our next tournament," she said.
Mizzou will have a few weeks of downtime before their next outing March 22-24, when they will play co-host (along with Kansas State) at the 21st annual MountainView Collegiate Classic held in Tucson, Ariz.
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
