Sept. 12, 2011
Columbia, Mo. - An arm injury put the debut of talented freshman Michelle Butler on hold for a week, but her replacement, sophomore Kate Gallagher, led the Tigers on Monday shooting a first-round 78 to pace the Mizzou Women's Golf program at the 2011 Dale McNamara Invitational in Owasso, Okla., on Monday.
The 2011 Dale McNamara Invitational is being hosted at the par-72 Patriot Golf Club in Owasso and features a talented field including ranked clubs Arizona State, Iowa State, Northwestern and Oklahoma State.
Gallagher was not scheduled to play at this event and arrived in Tulsa shortly before 4 a.m. on Monday. She then traveled with the team to the Patriot Golf Club at 6 a.m. to begin her pre-tournament prep. Despite not playing a practice round, the Savannah, Mo., native shot an even-par 36 on the front nine and she finished with that 6-over-par 78.
"I was really proud of how Kate (Gallagher) battled out there," Head Coach Stephanie Priesmeyer said. "Michelle (Butler) thought she could go, but it's the first tournament of the year and we wanted to play it safe. We want her 100-percent for the Louisville event next week and Kate has played four rounds on this course, so it made sense. We just have to finish better. Holes 17 and 18 really destroyed our team score. One bad swing can cost you big time on this course and we need to minimize the damage when that happens."
As the Tiger head coach mentioned, Missouri played holes 17-18 a combined 15-over-par, dropping them from 11th to 15th in the day one standings.
Another sophomore, Ariana Savich, is second on the team with a 79. The Carmel, Ind., native was building momentum following a birdie on the par-5 15th, but suffered a triple bogey on the 18th to slip to 7-over-par.
Missouri returns to action on Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. The 54-hole event concludes on Wednesday with the final round of play.
For more information on Mizzou Women's Golf please visit our website, mutigers.com.
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