Led by freshman Hannah Weathersby and sophomore Mallory Batson, the Mississippi State women’s golf team finished fourth at the Jonnie Imes Invitational at The Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Mo. on Tuesday.
“I feel like it was a good performance, finishing fourth out of 18 teams,” said MSU head coach Christi Sanders. “Anytime that you’re finishing in the upper third of an event, that’s a good finish.”
The Lady Bulldogs finished 47-over-par as a team in the two-day, 54-hole tournament. They finished 11 strokes behind the winner, Ole Miss. Arkansas-Little Rock and Missouri tied for second with a score of +38. Finishing behind the Lady Bulldogs were Kansas, Florida International, Princeton, Middle Tennessee State, Texas State, Iowa, Missouri State, Bradley, UMKC, Missouri B, Redlands Community College, Southern Illinois, Memphis and Drury.
Weathersby, playing in only her second tournament as a Lady Bulldog, shot scores of 71, 72 and 77 for 4-over-par. She tied for fourth individually.
“[Weathersby] played really well. She has great confidence in herself. She was striking the ball well in the tournament, especially the first two rounds,” Sanders said. “She struggled maybe a little bit the last round with her swing, started pulling the ball a little bit but was able to still finish with a nice fourth-place finish.”
Batson finished in ninth place individually, scoring 76-75-73 for 8-over-par.
“I’m pleased with how I played all week,” Batson said. “My short game was much improved this tournament.”
“Mallory played really steady all week. She is a fighter on the golf course,” Sanders said. “I’ve never seen anybody fight as hard as she does and uses her imagination to be able to be creative to where she should place the ball. I’m extremely proud of her performance.”
“I thought we played really well as a team. The first day was really tough; 36 holes in one day,” Batson said. “It was rainy. It was windy. It was everything. The course was really tough.”
Both Sanders and Batson feel confident about the rest of the season after this tournament.
“To finish in the top five was a very big confidence booster, and I feel like as a team our scores are getting lower, and we’re really bonding as a team. I feel like even that is helping our overall performance on the golf course,” Batson said.
Sanders said, “I am excited about the way we got started. With our potential and the talent we have on the team, I know we’re just getting stronger as the season goes along.”
The Lady Bulldogs will now focus on their next tournament, the UNCG-Starmount Fall Classic, Oct. 12 through 14 at the Starmount Forest Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.