Missouri women’s golf placed second in the Johnie Imes Invitational at the Club at Old Hawthorne in Columbia, Missouri. Having won the last eight in a row, the Tigers were unable to win a ninth consecutive tournament. Missouri scored an 862 to earn the runner-up spot — just two strokes behind Lipscomb University. 

Missouri started off the tournament with its worst performance in round one, finishing 6-over-par with 294 strokes. However, the Tigers didn’t give up, bouncing back in round two with big performances from sophomore Jade Zamora (71-68-76), sophomore Melanie Walker (71-68-70), and senior Emily Staples (75-67-74), who all finished round two in the top 10. Graduate student Winnie Ng (74-71-72) joined Zamora, Walker, and Staples in the top 10 with a strong final round. 

Missouri ended the first round in sole possession of fourth place and moved up to second in round two where they remained until the end of the tournament. Staples and Zamora fueled the second-round revival, as they shot a 67 and 68 respectively. 

Walker led the Tigers individually, finishing the tournament 5-under-par. Bolstered by her birdie of hole 5 in every round, Walker finished in 2nd place, just two strokes behind champion Lauren Thompson from Lipscomb University. Walker shot 1-under-par in round one, then 4-under-par in round two and 2-under-par in round 3 for a total of 211 strokes. 

Thanks to a strong second round, Ng tied for 10th place at 1-over-par. Like the rest of her teammates, Ng had a great second round — her best of the tournament that helped propel Missouri to a top-two finish. 

Missouri will return to play on Oct. 6-8 at the Evie Odom Invitational. The tournament will take place at the Princess Anne Country Club in Virginia Beach, Virginia. 

Edited by Chase Gemes | cgemes@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Grace Knight | gknight@themaneater.com

 Edited by Sophie Rentschler | srentschler@themaneater.com