South Carolina and Ole Miss share Valspar Augusta Invite title
Natalia Yoko of Augusta (AJ Henderson photo)
South Carolina and Ole Miss braved difficult weather conditions to share the team title at the Valspar Augusta Invitational on Sunday at Forest Hills Golf Club.
High winds in excess of 20 miles per hour and bitter cold cut Saturday's 36-hole day in half and reduced the tournament to a 36-hole event.
South Carolina, ranked fourth by Golfweek/Sagarin, and defending NCAA Champion Ole Miss tied for the team title at 14-over par 590, four strokes clear of third-place Florida State.
The Rebels shot a 1-under 287 in trying conditions at Forest Hills to gain a share of the team title with South Carolina, which closed with a 1-over round of 289. Ole Miss freshman
Natacha Host Husted, who shot an 82 on Saturday, fired a final round 68 to lead the Rebels Sunday charge. Ole Miss also counted 73s by
Andrea Lignell,
Chiara Tamburlini and
Julia Johnson.
It's the first team title for Ole Miss since winning last year's NCAA Championship and its first stroke play victory since last year's Gators Invitational, where the team also took home co-champion honors after tying host Florida.
"Today was a great day for the Rebs," said Ole Miss head coach Kory Henkes. "We fought hard all day to come from behind. I'm really proud of the way we handled such tough conditions this week and pulled through for the co-champion win. The team has been working so hard for this win and it was well deserved."
Paced by a final round 69 by
Tai Anudit and an even-par 72 by freshman
Louise Rydqvist, South Carolina's final round of 289 earned the Gamecocks their third win of the season.
Augusta's Natalia Yoko finished at even-par 144 to claim medalist honors by one shot over South Carolina's
Hannah Darling and Florida State's
Beatrice Wallin. Darling was 1-under through 16 holes and held a one-shot lead, but she made double bogey at the par-5 17th after four-putting. She narrowly missed tying Yoko for the individual title after missing a six-foot birdie try on her final hole.
Ole Miss and South Carolina Athletics Communications contributed to this report.
ABOUT THE Valspar Augusta Invitational
54 hole team and individual women's college
tournament hosted by
Augusta State University. Team (best four scores out
of
five players each round) and individual competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information