Missouri’s men’s and women’s golf teams each finished off their fall seasons on high notes and will now look forward to the spring season and postseason play in May.
Women’s golf wrapped up its fall season on Oct. 31 with a sixth-place finish at SMU’s Trinity Forest Invitational. Sophomore Jessica Yuen finished in third place after scoring a total of 218. The result marked the fourth top-10 finish for the team in their five tournaments of the fall campaign.
The fall season was highlighted by Missouri’s fourth consecutive win at the Johnie Imes Invitational on Oct. 3. The Johnie Imes Invitational is the only home tournament for the Tigers and also partners with Rally for Rhyan, an organization that benefits pediatric cancer. Junior Emma Allen finished second overall competing as an individual. As a team, they held the lead through all three rounds and finished with a team total of 861.
The team’s strong end to the season was powered by individual finishes from both Allen and Yuen. Allen and Yuen both posted top-five finishes in multiple tournaments. At the Jim West Challenge early in the fall campaign, Allen tied for sixth and Yuen tied for second place. At this tournament, Yuen tied a program record in a single round, and Allen matched her career best. In their final tournament for the season, Allen tied for 45th place while Yuen placed third.
On Nov. 16, head coach Stephanie Priesmeyer announced the addition of Natasha Slater to the women’s golf team. Slater is a native of Ulverston, England, and has an average round score of 75.58. She attended Ulverston Victoria High School and has plans to study biological engineering at Mizzou starting in the fall of 2018.
“We love Natasha’s fundamentals and the potential that she exhibits with her golf game,” Priesmeyer said in a press release. “She has a quiet confidence and wonderful disposition. Natasha no doubt will take full advantage of this opportunity and grow with our program. She is a very strong student and has made a great connection with the team.”
The women’s golf squad resumes competition play in February, starting the spring season in Tallahassee, Florida, at the Florida State Match-Up.
Men’s golf finished the fall season ranked No. 17 in the Golfweek men’s collegiate rankings. The Tigers won the Turning Stone-Tiger Intercollegiate to start the year and finished fourth at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate on Oct. 15.
School records were not safe this fall around senior Hayden Buckley, who was hot all season.
Buckley’s second round at the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational on Oct. 30 set a program record for low individual round, an 11-under-par 61. His 54-hole score of 197 (66-61-70) broke the school record he had tied earlier this season. The team finished third at the event.
“The hard work Hayden has put in for nearly four years at Mizzou is now reflected in the program’s record books,” head coach Mark Leroux said in a press release. “Our whole squad is proud of Hayden’s outstanding tournament, as well as our entire group’s effort. To be setting school records while playing against such quality competition says a lot about our team’s focus and approach.”
While Buckley is performing well as a senior, Mizzou added two future Tigers this fall. Tommy Boone from Plano, Texas, and Ricky Sanders from The Hague, Netherlands, have signed and make up the 2018 recruiting class. Leroux spoke highly of his two newest golfers.
“[Boone’s] demeanor on the course is very mature for a high school player,” Leroux said in a press release. “He competes to win, which is an attribute we always seek in our recruits. I watched [Sanders] flight his golf ball into the wind and was very impressed. There were no other golfers in the tournament hitting the shots he was. He also has that ‘I’m going to win’ attitude.”
Mizzou men’s golf will open its spring season on Feb. 17 at the Suntrust Gator Invitational.
_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_