Missouri women’s golf finished No. 13 in the Southeastern Conference Championship and failed to advance to the match-play quarterfinals, despite breaking multiple program records during the event. 

The Missouri Tigers entered the SEC Championship with the odds stacked against them, teeing off as the lowest ranked women’s golf collegiate team in the tournament at No. 64 as of April 21. With its backs against the wall, Missouri came out swinging to open the tournament. In the first round, the Tigers combined for a score of 288, a program record for an SEC Championship score.

Junior Melanie Walker made Missouri history on day one, shooting a score of 68. This tied the program-low for a single round in the SEC Championship, dating back to Jessica Yuen’s identical performance in 2017. Walker’s record-breaking performance placed her at No. 9 after day one, while the team sat tied for No. 12. 

Missouri fell down the leaderboard on day two, recording a score of 297. This moved the Tigers from eight over-par to twenty five over-par, and placed them at No. 14. The veterans continued to lead the Tigers, as senior Ffion Tynan shot a team-best 72 on day two and moved to No. 54 in the standings. Walker remained at the top of the Missouri leaderboard, sitting in 34th place after a score of 76 in her second round.

Missouri entered day three on the outside looking in, as the team needed to jump into the top-eight in order to extend its stay in Belleair, Florida. With full pressure on, the Tigers rose to the occasion – breaking their own single round score record that had been set two days prior. The team’s day threescore of 284 marked a new program record, and totaled to a three-day score of 869, also a program best. 

Despite Missouri’s second history-defining day of the tournament, the strength of the SEC would prove to be too much to overcome. The program’s record-breaking score was the eighth best score of the day, and the Tigers would bow out of the SEC Championship at No. 13, failing to advance to the quarterfinals. 

The youth of Missouri burst onto the scene on day three, headlined by sophomore Fleur van Beek. Beek made a strong debut in the SEC Championship last year, finishing a team-best No. 41 and recording the lowest placement in the program by a freshman since 2017. Beek found herself in 58th place after shooting scores of 72 and 76 in her first two rounds before shooting a season-low 69 on day three. The sophomore’s final round bumped her up ten spots on the leaderboard, and resulted in a No. 48 overall finish.

Freshman Alexandra Berglund and Walker shared the top of the leaderboard for Missouri, finishing as a part of a four-way tie for No. 43 overall. Berglund shot scores of 73 in her first two rounds before shooting a career-best 70 in her final 18 to move up six spots on the leaderboard. Berglund’s finish marked the second year in a row a Missouri freshman has finished within the top-50 in the SEC Championship, with Beek doing so the year prior. Walker finished the tournament with a score of 72, leaving the junior at six-over par and with her sixth top-50 finish of the season. 

Tynan was next to place for Missouri, shooting a score of 74 in her final round to accompany her two previous scores of 75 and 72 in the tournament. Tynan finished in a five-way tie for No. 57, and sat outside of the top-30 in an event for the first time this season. 

Junior Addie Dobson only competed in two rounds of the tournament, shooting scores of 80 and 73 in her second SEC Championship appearance for the Tigers.  

The South Carolina Gamecocks went on to win the SEC Championship, shooting a combined score of sixteen under-par. While Missouri didn’t come out on top in the tournament, its multiple record-breaking performances throughout the event led the team to its best finish in the SEC Championship since 2018, when the Tigers made the quarterfinals. The team would also best multiple higher ranked teams in the tournament, finishing above No. 22 Vanderbilt, No. 36 Oklahoma and No. 58 Georgia. 

Missouri will shift its attention to the NCAA Championship Regionals, starting on May 5. 

Edited by Killian Wright | kwright@themaneater.com

Copy edited by Ava Mohror | amohror@themaneater.com

Edited by Annie Goodykoontz | agoodykoontz@themaneater.com