Missouri
The Johnie Imes
Women's Golf Hosts Annual Johnie Imes Invitational
9/29/2018 9:19:00 AM | Women's Golf
Tigers Look to Win Fifth-Straight Home Tournament
The highlight of each fall season for the Mizzou Women's Golf team takes place this week, as the Tigers play host to the 11th annual Johnie Imes Invitational, a 13-team tournament which will take place Oct. 1-3 at The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia.
Head Coach Stephanie Priesmeyer's team has won four-straight Imes tournaments (2014-17), including a six-stroke win over East Tennessee State last fall, and highlighted by a dominant 25-shot margin of victory in 2015 that saw the program set tournament records for low team 18-hole score (269) and 54-hole score (825). While the psychology of golf is best played hole-by-hole, and even shot-by-shot, Priesmeyer knows her team is looking forward to the opportunity to defend their title.
"It's always important to win at home," said Priesmeyer. "We know this course very well naturally, and we just have to get everyone to relax and not put too much pressure on themselves. They've done the work and now it's time to go out and trust the process," she said.
Playing host to one of the top women's collegiate fall tournaments is important for Mizzou, Priesmeyer said.
"We love hosting the Johnie at Old Hawthorne every fall," she said. "The community around the club is always so supportive of our program, and we get tremendous support from them with all of the volunteers who help us put this tournament on. It's been so well-run over the years, that we've got a handful of teams who have been coming each year, and they love the course, the people and Mid-Missouri so much that it's part of their routine each fall," she said.
Joining the Tigers in this year's tournament field are 12 opponents who represent a wide swath of regional and coastal foes. In-state schools in the tournament include Missouri-Kansas City and Missouri State, with other regional schools including Arkansas-Little Rock, Arkansas State, Bradley, Illinois State, Mercer, Northern Illinois and Wichita State. Adding some east and west coast flare to the field this year are Florida Gulf Coast, Florida International and Fresno State.
Mizzou has two tournaments under its belt this fall, including a 10th-place finish at the Minnesota Invitational (Sept. 10-11) and most recently a 13th-place showing at the rain-shortened Mason Rudolph Championship (Sept. 21-22). At the Rudolph, the Tigers were in the midst of a big third-round charge that had them up to eighth place in the team standings (and only three shots out of fifth), only to see rain cancel the final round. While it hasn't been as good a start to the fall as Priesmeyer wanted, she feels that her lineup is ready to come around.
"We haven't quite put everything together yet this fall, but we're close," she said. "We're making some random execution errors, and then too many times have compounded those by trying to do too much to make up for it and then unfortunately that leads to a big number. Avoiding that is easier said than done of course, but our players know where they can make up for those mental mistakes and course management mistakes," she said.
The Tigers are led by the 1-2 punch of junior Jessica Yuen (Bolingbrook, Ill.) and senior Emma Allen (Southampton, England), who enter the Imes with season stroke averages of 72.40 and 74.80, respectively. Yuen has shot par or better in four of her five rounds this fall, while Allen has two sub-par rounds of her own thus far. Yuen is coming off a tie for ninth place at the Mason Rudolph, after a pair of one-under par rounds of 71 in the two-day tournament. That marked her seventh career top-10 finish as a Tiger. Yuen has finished eighth individually each of the last two years at the Johnie Imes, shooting a three-round even par 216 as a freshman (73-72-71), followed by a one-under 215 in 2017 (71-72-72). Yuen is looking to nail down her first collegiate win, and she'll be on the short list of favorites to do just that this week at the Imes.
Allen shot a one-under par 71 in the Mason Rudolph first round last time out, and finished tied for 37th overall after a second-round 77. Also in search of her first collegiate tournament win, Allen has a strong history of success at the Imes, including a second-place 209 a year ago which included rounds of 68-68-73 (seven-under par) that left her just three shots off the pace. In 2016, she tied for sixth place with a one-under par 215 (66-72-77) after a tie for 25th as a freshman in 2015 with a two-over par 218 (68-79-71).
Seniors Amanda Kim (O'Fallon, Mo.) and Cayce Hendrickson (Benton, Ky.) are joined by junior Cherise Otter (Bloomington, Ind.) to round out the starting five this week. Kim has posted five rounds in the mid-70s so far this season, and her stroke average of 75.00 is third best on the team. One of her two career top-10 collegiate finishes came at the Johnie Imes, as she shot an even-par 216 (71-72-73) last year for a solo 10th-place showing.
Hendrickson opened the season with a strong outing at Minnesota, where she tied for 22nd with a five-over par 221 total (74-72-75) that put her second among Tigers. Her best finish at the Johnie Imes came as a sophomore in 2016, when she tied for 19th overall with a three-over par 219 total (71-74-74). Otter's start to the 2018-19 season hasn't gone as planned, but she looks to get her game going at the home course this week, where she's turned in a pair of top-25 finishes in her two career Johnie Imes appearances. Otter tied for 21st as a freshman in the tournament in 2016 with a four-over par 220 total (69-72-79) and followed up with her first career top-10 finish a year ago with a one-under par 215 (69-73-73) that put her in a tie for eighth.
An added benefit of hosting a home tournament for Priesmeyer is her ability to get her entire roster out on the course. Three other Tigers will be making their first appearances this season, and will play in the Johnie Imes as individuals. Senior Mackenzie Perez (Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.) will be making her third career appearance at the Johnie Imes, and she'll be looking to improve on her best showing that came in 2017, when she tied for 68th with a 241 total (79-77-85).
A pair of freshmen will be making their first appearances as Tigers, in redshirt freshman Julia Bower (Columbia, Mo.) and true freshman Keagan Dunn (Braselton, Ga.). Priesmeyer is looking forward to seeing what her rookies can do on their home course.
"Keagan has probably made the biggest improvements out of anyone this fall," said Priesmeyer. "She is a hard worker and has been very coachable and we're all excited to see her compete this week. Julia has also made big improvements and has done a nice job of lowering her scores this fall. This week will be nice to see where everyone is in full out competition, and after the event we can evaluate things for the last two fall tournaments," she said.
Another important aspect of the tournament is the charitable tie-in that supports furthering awareness and fundraising to fight pediatric cancer. Specifically, the Imes is part of the "Rally for Rhyan" program which has been front and center around Mizzou Athletics in the last several years. Rhyan Loos, daughter of Mizzou Athletics Assistant Athletic Director Brad Loos, was diagnosed in the fall of 2015 with Stage IV Neuroblastoma. Rhyan and her family continue the fight, and the great news is that she is doing very well, but the fight against childhood cancer continues all over, and Priesmeyer is proud that this tournament can help in some fashion to continue the battle.
"Rhyan and the Loos family have been in our hearts since the diagnosis a few years ago," said Priesmeyer. "We want to raise awareness for the cause and also to campaign to raise money for Rally for Rhyan because they are funding some amazing treatments that help give families more and more hope each day. It's important to all of us that we continue to do our part to help," she said.
Those desiring more information about the cause are encouraged to visit www.rallyforrhyan.org.
Follow all the action of the 2018 Johnie Imes Invitational online at www.mutigers.com. Live scoring for the event is available at www.birdiefire.com.
Players Mentioned
