Women's Golf Pulls Away for Fifth Straight Johnie Imes
10/3/2018 3:22:00 PM | Women's Golf
Senior Emma Allen Wins First Individual Collegiate Title
Columbia, Mo. – The University of Missouri Women's Golf Team got one for the thumb Wednesday, as it claimed the program's fifth-straight Johnie Imes Invitational team championship, cruising to a 22-stroke win over runner-up Fresno State at The Club at Old Hawthorne. The Tigers entered the day with a six-shot advantage over Florida Gulf Coast University, but pulled away in extremely windy conditions, with gusts of well over 30 miles per hour making play very tricky for the 13-team field. Mizzou shot a team round of 289 Wednesday, 15 shots better than Fresno (304) and 17 better than Gulf Coast (306).
The 22-stroke team win was the second-largest in the 11-year history of the Johnie Imes Invitational, trailing only the 25-stroke win achieved by the Tigers in 2015. Mizzou has now won the last five Imes team titles (2014-18), and six overall under Head Coach Stephanie Priesmeyer.
"It was a great win for us today in some downright tough, windy conditions," said Priesmeyer. "We played with great patience and confidence through the day and did a nice job of avoiding big numbers, which has been something we were determined to do better at this week," she said.
Individually, senior Emma Allen (Southampton, England) won medalist honors for the first time in her collegiate career, with a 54-hole total of five-under par 211 (67-71-73). She won by one shot over playing partner Laura Edmonds of Florida Gulf Coast (70-68-74 = 212), and it came down to the final hole, as Allen reached the par-four 18th green in regulation and two-putted from around 25 feet, while Edmonds over shot the green long, and couldn't get up-and-down, eventually taking a bogey. Allen's victory makes her the 11th different Tiger to win a tournament in program history (22nd time overall), and the first since former standout Jessica Meek won this same tournament in 2015.
Three other Tigers posted top-10 individual finishes this week. Junior Jessica Yuen (Bolingbrook, Ill.) finished third overall, just two shots off the lead, with a 54-hole total of 213 (70-71-72). Senior Cayce Hendrickson (Benton, Ky.) placed fourth overall (her first career top-five finish), just three shots shy of Allen, with a career-best 214 total (72-71-71). Starting Wednesday on hole number three, Hendrickson came out firing, as she carded four birdies in her first six holes. Junior Cherise Otter (Bloomington, Ind.) was sixth overall with a 217 total (73-69-75), surpassing her previous career-best finish of eighth place (2017 Johnie Imes).
"Emma's win was special because it was our home event and senior day and it was her first win," said Priesmeyer. "It was quite a battle between her and Jess and Laura (Edmonds of Florida Gulf Coast), they all played great golf this week. Jess had a chance to force a playoff at the end with her teammate, and that would have been fun to see, but she was really solid again this week and I know she'll get that first win soon," she said.
Playing individually this week were a trio of Tigers making their first appearances of the 2018-19 season. Senior Mackenzie Perez (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) had an outstanding tournament in her final home appearance, shooting a 54-hole 225 total (75-76-74), finishing in a tie for 32nd place. Perez shattered her previous career-low of 240 (2018 MountainView Classic) and her previous best at the Johnie Imes (241 last fall), while Wednesday's two-over par 74 marked her best round as a collegian. Her 32nd-place finish was also 36 spots better than her previous career-low finish (68th at the 2017 Johnie Imes).
Redshirt freshman Julia Bower (Columbia, Mo.) performed very well in her first collegiate tournament, shooting a 54-hole 227 and tying for 38th overall, thanks to rounds of 77-75-75, while fellow rookie Keagan Dunn (Braselton, Ga.) was just a handful of strokes behind, in a tie for 50th overall, with a 54-hole total of 232 (74-77-81).
"I'm really pleased how we got great balance within the team and how everyone contributed to the team score over the three days," said Priesmeyer. "(Assistant Coach) Mindy (Coyle) and I are proud of how our team prepared in advance for this event and how they did everything we asked of them. Their work paid off with lower scores and fewer mistakes on the course, and my hope is that this is a great springboard heading into the final stretch of our fall season," she said.
The Tigers will have more than three weeks off from competition, until their next fall tournament, set for Oct. 28-29 at the Jim West Challenge in San Marcos, Texas. Mizzou will concluded its 2018 fall season a few days later at the Battle at the Beach, to be held Nov. 2-4 in San Jose, Mexico.
|
POS |
TEAMS |
SCORING |
ROUNDS |
TOTAL SCORE |
||||
|
TO PAR |
THRU |
TODAY |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|||
|
1 |
-11 |
F |
+1 |
282 |
282 |
289 |
853 |
|
|
2 |
+11 |
F |
+16 |
292 |
279 |
304 |
875 |
|
|
3 |
+12 |
F |
+18 |
286 |
284 |
306 |
876 |
|
|
4 |
+21 |
F |
+14 |
287 |
296 |
302 |
885 |
|
|
5 |
+25 |
F |
+25 |
290 |
286 |
313 |
889 |
|
|
6 |
+28 |
F |
+11 |
298 |
295 |
299 |
892 |
|
|
7 |
+32 |
F |
+10 |
306 |
292 |
298 |
896 |
|
|
8 |
+40 |
F |
+19 |
291 |
306 |
307 |
904 |
|
|
9 |
+45 |
F |
+23 |
297 |
301 |
311 |
909 |
|
|
T10 |
+47 |
F |
+21 |
300 |
302 |
309 |
911 |
|
|
T10 |
+47 |
F |
+19 |
307 |
297 |
307 |
911 |
|
|
12 |
+50 |
F |
+22 |
306 |
298 |
310 |
914 |
|
|
13 |
+53 |
F |
+20 |
306 |
303 |
308 |
917 |
|
|
POS |
TEAM/PLAYER (SEED) |
ROUND 1 |
ROUND 2 |
ROUND 3 |
TOTAL |
|
1 |
282 -6 |
282 -6 |
289 +1 |
853 -11 |
|
|
1 |
Emma Allen (2) |
-5 (F) |
-1 (F) |
+1 (F) |
211 |
|
3 |
Jess Yuen (1) |
-2 (F) |
-1 (F) |
E (F) |
213 |
|
4 |
E (F) |
-1 (F) |
-1 (F) |
214 |
|
|
T6 |
Cherise Otter (5) |
+1 (F) |
-3 (F) |
+3 (F) |
217 |
|
T32 |
Mackenzie Perez (IND) |
+3 (F) |
+4 (F) |
+2 (F) |
225 |
|
T32 |
Amanda Kim (3) |
+8 (F) |
E (F) |
+1 (F) |
225 |
|
T38 |
Julia Bower (IND) |
+5 (F) |
+3 (F) |
+3 (F) |
227 |
|
T52 |
Keagan Dunn (IND) |
+2 (F) |
+5 (F) |
+9 (F) |
232 |
Players Mentioned
