Missouri women’s golf’s season ends in Alabama

Calum McAndrew

Missouri women’s golf’s season ended Friday after finishing 13th in the Southeastern Conference Championship stroke play.

The Tigers needed to make up 15 strokes to reach eighth place in the third and final round of the event to qualify for the match-play portion of the event. Instead, they fell eight strokes further adrift of the last spot into the tournament after posting a team score of 3-over 291 in Round 3 at Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama.

LSU won the event at 46 under, nine strokes ahead of second-placed South Carolina. Auburn and Ole Miss will take the third and fourth seeds into the tournament, respectively.

Arkansas made a late jump into the final qualifying spot for the match play at 12 under after two of its players made birdies on the 18th hole to avoid a three-for-one playoff with Tennessee and Florida. The Razorbacks finished 23 strokes ahead of Missouri in the final standings.

Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Alabama finished in fifth, sixth and seventh, respectively, rounding out the qualifiers for the match play tournament.

Golfstat’s top-ranked golfer in the country, Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (South Carolina), took the individual title at 17 under, closing with a 7-under 65 after back-to-back 5-under 67s. She eagled her final hole to finish three strokes clear of second-placed Ingrid Landblad of LSU, who tied the low round of the tournament Friday with a bogey-free 8-under 64.

Missouri’s Jessica Yuen was the closest to Roussin-Bouchard’s lead. She posted a final-round even-par 72, following a 3-under 69 and 1-over 73 in the first two rounds, to finish the tournament 2 under par and in a tie for 31st.

Yuen closed with four birdies and no drop shots on her inward nine, following a 4-over front nine in Round 3.

Noelle Beijer finished two strokes behind her teammate at even par for the tournament following a 72 in the final round. She ended the event in a tie for 36th.

Sophia Yoemans and Emily Staples were 22 places further back for the Tigers in a tie for 58th. Staples matched Beijer’s Friday score of 72, and Yoemans had a 3-over 75. The pair finished at 8 over par for the event.

Brianne Bolden closed with a 6-over 78 to end the week 18 over and 68th on the final leaderboard.

The Tigers finished seven strokes ahead of last-placed Georgia and 10 strokes behind 12th-placed Kentucky. They were the only three teams in the tournament to post an over-par total for the week.

Missouri’s season ends with the 13th-placed finish. No MU players are likely to receive an invite as individuals to the NCAA Regional event May 10-12.