The Mississippi State University women’s golf team traveled out west to Peoria, Arizona, to compete in the Westbrook Invitational, and finished fifth place as a team.
According to a press release sent out by the athletic department, head coach Ginger Brown-Lemm said she was pleased with what she saw from the team, but is also hoping they can learn from their mistakes to improve.
“I am proud of this team,” said Brown-Lemm. “We learned what it is like to be in contention and took away irreplaceable lessons from that. We didn’t play as free as we needed to today, but being in that final pairing is a necessary learning day for us.”
One of the players who really shone in the tournament was Ela Grimwood, a junior from Auckland, New Zealand, who shot the lowest score for the Bulldogs, posting 3 under par for the tournament. Brown-Lemm said she was thrilled with her performance.
“Ela (Grimwood) was low for the team, and I’m super proud of her commitment to the process,” Brown-Lemm said.
Grimwood said she was also excited with her performance this past weekend because she felt it showed what she is truly capable of this year, which has given a boost to her confidence and in turn a boost to her game.
“This weekend really showed me what I am capable of,” Grimwood said. “I knew I was putting well and had a chance to make anything that was on the green with my irons going well, too. I had a lot of confidence.”
Grimmwood said one of the reasons she has improved at putting was from the amount of time the team has spent working on their short game indoors due to the amount of rain Starkville got in the week leading up to the tournament.
“I think the weather in Starkville (last week) that pushed us inside meant we spent a lot of time working on short game,” Grimwood said. “Which made me that much more confident over my putts. Being in a good position after yesterday was very exciting for all of us.”
Grimwood believes the great finish for the team is just the beginning and they will continue to improve. The Bulldogs will not have a tee time until they return to the courses on March 15 for the Clover Cup in Meso, Arizona.
“Overall, I think this was a great start to the spring, and people should watch and see because we have some great things coming,” Grimwood said.