Ole Miss Women’s Golf Closes Out Regular Season with Clemson Invite Title

Ole Miss women’s golf saw a perfect end to the team’s 2022-23 regular season on Sunday, with the Rebels taking home their third tournament victory of the season at the Clemson Invitational, finishing the weekend with a score of 856 (-8).

The Rebels showed three straight rounds of strong play at the Reserve at Lake Keowee Course, ending the weekend as the only team in attendance to finish all three rounds below par. The team also finished the weekend ranked first in par-3 scoring (-6), along with tallying the second-most birdies (48) and second-most pars (179) in the field.

The team title was the third of the season for the Rebels and is just the fifth time in program history that the Rebels have won three or more tournaments in a single season. The record for Ole Miss women’s golf stands at four in a single season, with the 2019-20 team reaching that mark in its COVID-shortened year.

Andrea Lignell led the charge for the Rebels once again, grabbing her sixth top 5 finish of the year for the Rebels with a three-day score of 213 (-3). Lignell is now tied for the Ole Miss women’s golf record of most top 5 finishes in a single season, matching Julia Johnson’s total of six from the 2017-18 season.

Not far behind Lignell was senior Elle Johnson, who set a new season and career-best finish on the weekend by grabbing a share of eighth place overall. This bests her previous best finish of 27th from The Ally, as well as surpassing her career-best finish of 16th while at Florida State.

Johnson was the lone Rebel to finish all three days below par, carding a 72 (E) on Friday followed by a pair of 71 (-1) scorecards to close out her tournament at 2-under (213).

Chiara Tamburlini saved her best round for last at Lake Keowee, shooting a 70 (-2) on Sunday to jump up into a tie for 14th, marking her seventh top 20 finish of the season. The St. Gallen, Switzerland, native was a driving force for the Rebel victory, going 4-under on her back nine to help the Rebels climb past Clemson and LSU for the win.

Freshman Nicole Gal’s weekend would end with the Oakville, Ontario, native finishing tied for 27th, just two spots shy of matching her career-best finish at The Ally earlier this year. Despite a 76 (+4) on Sunday, Gal ended her tournament with a new career-best 54-hole score under her belt, notching a 219 (+3) over her three rounds of action.

Natacha Host Husted would also play a pivotal role in the Rebels’ late surge for the title, as the sophomore contributed a counting score of 71 (-1) in round three to help push the team to the top of the tournament leaderboard. Host Husted finished tied for 43rd, shooting a 224 (+8).

The Rebels will now turn their attention to postseason play, as the team heads to Birmingham, Alabama, for the SEC Championship at Greystone. The tournament is set to run April 12-16, with three days of stroke play scheduled followed by match play.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Sports