Women's Golf Closes Fall with 12th-Place Finish at Battle at the Beach
11/3/2019 4:03:00 PM | Women's Golf
Tigers Improve by Seven Shots on Sunday
The Missouri Women's Golf Team wrapped up play in the 2019 Battle at the Beach (played in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico, at Club Campestre), and the Tigers finished 12th overall with a three-day total of 904 (303-304-297). Mizzou improved in Sunday's final round by seven shots over the previous day, firing a team score of 297, and ended up just seven shots out of the top 10. The tournament served as the final one on the 2019 fall schedule – Mizzou's next competition will be Feb. 23-24, 2020 at the Westbrook Invitational in Westbrook, Ariz.
"I was encouraged by the fact that we played a lot of good golf this weekend, but was disappointed that the scores didn't turn out better," said Head Coach Stephanie Priesmeyer. "Every day we had a lot of opportunities but ultimately couldn't capitalize enough, so we've got to learn to finish those off, and also to finish off the rounds a little stronger. It seemed like there were a few holes that just had our number, collectively, so being stronger mentally is an important takeaway from this tournament. We'll work on that over the off season and we'll be better there," she said.
Sunday marked the third-straight day the Tigers were led by a different golfer, and this time it was freshman Sophia Yoemans (Red Wing, Minn.) who took the reins. Yoemans tied her fall best with a three-under par 69 in the final round, giving her a three-day total of 222 (77-76-69), which tied her for 31st overall. Yoemans, who started on hole No. 11, began her day with six-consecutive pars, followed by a birdie on the par-5 17th, and an eagle two on the par-4 18th. Her eagle on 18 came from 150 yards out, hitting from a difficult downhill slope lie. Yoemans would eventually finish the back nine at two-under 34, and she would shoot a one-under 35 on the front, thanks to four more birdies. It marked the second time this fall that Yoemans led the Tigers in a tournament.
"It was a wonderful end to the fall season for Sophia," said Priesmeyer. "She's been really close to doing that all fall, so it was great to see her work pay off today with a strong finish," she said.
Yoemans was pleased with her performance in Mexico.
"I played really solid today," said Yoemans. "My putter carried me most of the day – I made a bunch of 10-15 foot birdie putts that helped me with momentum and confidence. I like how I bounced back from a double on No. 1 with three-straight birdies," she said.
Right behind Yoemans in a tie for 36th individually was Noelle Beijer (Assendelft, The Netherlands). Beijer shot a one-under 71 Sunday and ended the tournament with a three-day 223 total (72-80-71). Starting on the 10th hole today, Beijer was even on the back nine, and at one point had her round to two under thanks to four birdies overall.
"I didn't have my 'A' game today, but I was happy with the end result overall," said Beijer. "It was a little frustrating out there on the greens, I hit a lot of approaches very close, but could only get a few of them to fall in for birdies. It was just one of those days," she said.
"Noelle threw some darts into the greens today, but just kept missing out on the birdie putts, or her score would look a lot different," said Priesmeyer. "She had a great bounce back from yesterday's round, when nothing went well. I was happy to see her get over that and finish strong today on a high note going into the off season," she said.
Senior Cherise Otter (Bloomington, Ind.) was Mizzou's next finisher, with a three-day 228 total that put her in 57th place individually (76-71-81). Otter led the Tigers on Saturday with her one-under par 71.
Freshman Bri Bolden (Mokena, Ill.) was next up for the Tigers, finishing tied for 62nd overall with a 54-hole score of 231 (78-77-76). Bolden improved by one shot in both the second and third rounds, and on Sunday she tallied identical nines of 38.
Sophomore Julia Bower (Columbia, Mo.) rounded out the Tiger competitors, and she finished in 86th place with a three-day 252 total (90-81-81). Her Sunday was highlighted by a two-over front nine 38 that featured birdies on the par-5 4th and the par-3 6th holes.
Players Mentioned
