The University of Memphis women’s golf team teed it up for their first tournament of the Fall earlier this week for the Memphis Intercollegiate hosted by Ridgeway Country Club, finishing second to MTSU.
The Tigers placed four golfers in the tournament’s top 17 with sophomore Leighann Cabush leading the way, shooting just one stroke over par for the tournament, which wrapped up on Tuesday.
Ole Miss’ Abby Newton won the tournament with a -3 overall score.
The Tigers shot +26 as a team – eight behind the Blue Raiders. Memphis head coach Beth Harrelson said she was glad to see the way her team competed.
“I’m extremely proud of the girls,” Harrelson said. “They showed a lot of mental toughness, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what the rest of the year holds.”
Behind Cabush, Ashley Kees, a senior at the U of M, posted a +7 for the tournament for 14th place. In 16th place, senior Ashleigh Whisenant finished with a +9. Emily Goldenstein, a freshman, finished 17th with a +10, and junior Julia Gerlach rounded out the scoring for the Blue and Gray with a +17 and 27th-place finish.
The runner-up finish was an improvement from last season when the Tigers finished fifth in their home tournament.
The Tigers finished the tournament with an aggregate score of 878, which breaks the school’s 54-hole record dating back to the 1997 season.
Cabush’s 214 overall ties a school record for the 3rd best 54-hole score. Her score was just three strokes off the all-time record.
The Tigers will not be afforded much practice time before returning to the links. Next week, the University of Louisville will host the Cardinal Cup. Action begins on Monday and finishes on Tuesday.
Despite the short turnover, Harrelson said the team would take advantage of the time they have to put in some practice.
“We’ll get a couple of good practice rounds in and will get some practice on bent-grass greens,” she said. “Then, (we’ll) head to the Louisville tournament on Saturday.”
Following the Cardinal Cup, Memphis gets a welcome break in their schedule. They will not return to the course for competition until the Cincinnati Fall Invitation on Oct. 6-7.
