COLUMBIA, Mo. – Mizzou Women's Golf closed the 2015 fall golf season with a No. 23 ranking by Golfweek following a stellar campaign. The Tigers won the Lady Paladin Invitational hosted by Furman on Sept. 22 and followed that victory with a record-setting 39-under par win in the annual Johnie Imes Invitational at The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia that concluded on Sept. 29. It marked the first time since 2007 that Mizzou won consecutive tournaments and the first time in the history of the Johnie Imes that a team has claimed the title in two straight years.
"This fall was a great start to the 2015-16 golf season for our program," head coach Stephanie Priesmeyer said. "Our players did a wonderful job of staying in the moment and they did all the little things very well in preparation for our events. It paid off in a big way for us on the course. Michelle [Butler], Jess [Meek] and Emma [Allen] were so consistent for us."
During the fall campaign, Mizzou led the nation with 241 birdies, finishing with 32 more than any other program. The Tigers recorded the best final round scoring average (71.72) in the country and tied for the lead nationally with a 3.42 average in subpar strokes per round and six total eagles.
Junior Jessica Meek (Carnoustie, Scotland) finished second in the nation with 56 birdies while sophomore Clara Young (North Berwick, Scotland) was sixth with 51, senior Michelle Butler (Dunedin, Fla.) tied for eighth with 49 and freshman Emma Allen (Southampton, England) tied for 15th with 47.
Meek tied for 10th nationally with an average of 4.0 subpar strokes per round while Butler was 24th at 3.79. Butler and Young tied for ninth in the nation with a 70.8 final round scoring average while Butler and Meek tied for ninth in the country with two eagles during the fall season. The 65 Butler shot in the second round of the Johnie Imes tied for the fourth-lowest round of any Division I golfer in the fall season.
The Tigers return to action to begin the spring season at the UCF Challenge in Orlando, Florida, from Feb. 7–9.
Keep up with the Tigers by following @MUWomensGolf on Twitter and liking Mizzou Women's Golf on Facebook.
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