BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Ole Miss women’s golf team got its spring season started Sunday at Shoal Creek with a single round stroke play event against an All-SEC field.

The Rebels finished in third place with a team score of 297 (+7), 12 strokes behind champion Auburn.

“We can take a lot of positives out of today’s round but we definitely have some work to do before our next event,” said head coach Kory Henkes. “Our par-5 scoring hurt us so we need to do a better job of executing on these holes.”

Conner Beth Ball led the Rebels on the scorecard. The sophomore shot a 1-under 71 en route to a top-3 finish individually with five birdies, the most in the field. Ball gained the most strokes off the par 3’s, going 2-under for the day. This marks Ball’s 4th top-5 finish of her young career.

“I was super excited to get the season started off with a cool one day SEC match up,” said Ball. “It was great getting to be competitive again.”

“I think that as the season goes on and some more putts fall it’ll be a really great spring for all of us. The team and I are just really looking forward to practicing on our new facility and getting ready for a great spring.”

Julia Johnson used a strong back-nine to finish in the top-5. The sophomore went 1-under on the final holes to finish at even par for the round. Johnson was best on the longest holes on the course, going 1-under on the par 5’s.

“Conner Beth and Julia played solid golf today,” said Henkes. “They both looked great and finished strong. This tournament was good for playing in competition before the bulk of our season gets under way. We now have a better idea of where we need to focus our time at practice.”

Ellen Hutchinson-Kay tied her career-best finish as a Rebel, shooting a 3-over 75 and finishing tied for 13th. The freshman was second on the team in birdies with four.

The Rebels return to the course February 25 at the Bruin Wave Invitational in San Luis Obispo, California.

 

INDIVIDUAL RESULTS

t-3. Ball: 71 (-1)

t-5. Johnson: 72 (E)

t-13. Hutchinson-Kay: 75 (+3)

18. Purdom: 79 (+7)

t-21. Holliday: 85 (+13)

 

*19. Somoskey: 82 (+10)

*t-21. Flori: 85 (+13)

 

TEAM RESULTS

1. Auburn: 285 (-3)

2. Mississippi State: 291 (+3)

3. Ole Miss: 297 (+3)

 

Will Redmond

Ole Miss Athletics