Women's Golf Leads Johnie Imes by Six After Day One
9/30/2019 5:19:00 PM | Women's Golf
Beijer Tied for First, Otter in Third Individually
Columbia, MO – After one day at the Johnie Imes Invitational, the Mizzou Women's Golf Team is off to a strong start with their quest for a sixth-straight Imes team title. The Tigers lead the 15-team tournament after the opening round, with a team score of 290 (2-over). Mizzou holds a six-shot lead over second-place Oral Roberts (296) and is seven shots clear of third-place Florida International (297).
"We came out of the gates with a pretty good start today, so I was pleased overall," said Head Coach Stephanie Priesmeyer. "In our first two tournaments we battled inconsistency, and today I saw some growth and some maturity, I think they got better at letting go of tough shots – I didn't see anything today where one bad shot turned into more bad shots, and that's really important for us going forward. I'm glad our freshmen got their first rounds in the books, I think maybe they pressed a little too hard at times, but it was good for them to see how their teammates were there to pick them up and to understand that they don't have to be perfect," she said.
Conditions were favorable today, with sunny, clear skies and temperatures in the mid-80s. Several Tigers took advantage, posting their low scores of the year.
Junior Noelle Beijer (Assendelft, The Netherlands) was on fire with three birdies and no bogeys in the opening round. Her 3-under 69 tied her for the best round of the day and she has tied for first place individually going into tomorrow's round (along with Agueda Cortilla-Mas of FIU). Beijer and Cortilla-Mas will play in the same pairing Tuesday morning, with a tee time set for 9:21 a.m. central.
"Great start today for Noelle," said Priesmeyer. "And keep in mind, while it technically is her home course, being new to us this summer, she really doesn't have that much experience here, so for her to come out in her first competitive round the way she did, that was good to see, especially with the wind making it tough with some of the pin positions out there," she said.
Beijer credited her putting as the key to her first bogey-free round of the season. "It was definitely my putting that took a big step today," said Beijer. "I don't know in my 22 years if I've ever putted that well, and it's funny because I feel like I haven't been putting poorly in the previous two tournaments, but I just felt like I couldn't get anything to drop, no matter how well I'd hit the putt. It was nice to see some of them fall today, and I'm excited that I was able to stay focused with the wind making it kind of tough out there. We got off to a good start as a team, so everybody did a great job, and we just have to keep it going tomorrow," she said.
Senior Cherise Otter (Bloomington, Ind.) also posted the best score of her season today, and enters Tuesday's second round in solo third place, after a 1-under par 71 that featured a pair of birdies on the par-four fifth and 11th holes. Otter will begin her second round at 9:12 a.m. tomorrow.
"Watching Cherise today was fun, she had great body language and made a lot of saves and I could tell by her energy from the start that she was going to have a good day," said Priesmeyer. "She absolutely annihilated that first drive of the day, and even though her second shot on one wasn't great, she made a nice up-and-down to get started the right way," she said.
Freshman Bri Bolden (Mokena, Ill.) made three birdies on her way to a 3-over 75, including red numbers on both par threes on the front (holes No. 2 and No. 7). Her second-round will begin at 9:03 a.m. Tuesday.
Sophomore Julia Bower (Columbia, Mo.) tied her career best at the Imes with a 3-over 75. She carded two birdies on her way to her best round of the early season. She will tee off at 8:54 a.m. tomorrow morning.
"Julia was really consistent all day, she got into trouble on six, but she did a great job of bouncing back from that and being really solid for us," said Priesmeyer.
Freshman Sophia Yoemans (Red Wing, Minn.) posted a 5-over 77 in her first career round in the Johnie Imes Invitational. She will tee off at 8:45 a.m. tomorrow morning.
"I know Sophia is disappointed with her start, but again, for her to see her teammates were there to pick her up, she'll get things worked out on the range and be just fine going forward," said Priesmeyer.
Sophomore Keagan Dunn (Braselton, Ga.) represented the Tigers as an individual, and shot a 9-over 81 on the day. She will tee off Tuesday at 8:36 a.m. starting on the back nine.
For all the latest on Mizzou Women's Golf, stay tuned to www.MUTigers.com and follow the team on Twitter (@MUWomensGolf) and on Facebook at MizzouWomensGolf.
Players Mentioned
