BULLDOG BITS
Women’s Golf
Trips to courses around the country and the Bahamas make up Mississippi State's 2019-20 women's golf schedule.
The Magnolia Invitational highlights a five-tournament fall slate that will prepare 10th-year head coach Ginger Brownlemm's Bulldogs for three tournaments in the spring.
“This is probably one of the strongest schedules that we've had since Ally Mcdonald played for us,” said Brownlemm. “For the first time in a while, we have some good depth. We have been really young the last couple of years. The combination of that and us playing really well last season, moving from No. 70 to No. 42, has really opened some doors for us scheduling wise. We finally have the depth to really be competitive. I'm really excited about this schedule because we are covering a lot of different parts of the United States. It's important for our ranking that we play head to head with all these different programs.”
Brown-lemm's squad opens the year Sept. 9-10 with a long trek to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to compete in the Branch Law Firm/dick Mcguire Invitational. The two-day event is set to be played at the University of New Mexico Golf Course, which is considered one of the best courses in the western half of the U.S.
After that, State heads to the Mason Rudolph Invitational in Nashville, Tennessee, on Sept. 20-22. The last time the Bulldogs competed in the event was 2014, finishing third at the Vanderbilt Legends North Course.
On the following week (Sept. 27-29), the Bulldogs head to a familiar course to compete in the Schooner Fall Classic in Norman, Oklahoma. The Bulldogs have historically fared well in the event, winning the 2014 edition after posting a record 54-hole low score of 22-under 818 at the Belmar Golf Club.
The Schooner Fall Classic serves as a final tune-up before MSU heads to its home course, Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, for the third Magnolia Invitational. This year's event is set for Oct. 13-15 with free admission to the public. The Bulldogs look to build on last season's Magnolia Invitational when they registered a season-best second-place finish.
After showcasing one of the top golf courses in the Southeast, Brown-lemm's squad wraps up the fall portion of the season with a trip to Nassau, Bahamas, to play in the White Sands Invitational on Oct. 28-30. The event is played at the incredible Ocean Club Golf Course, which is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Nassau Harbor and offers a unique challenge with crosswinds and creative bunkers.
MSU tees off the spring slate March 13-15 by returning to Arizona to challenge Mesa's Longbow Golf Club in the Notre Dame's Clover Cup after earning a fifth-place finish last year.
State ventures back to the South on March 20-22 to compete in the Liz Murphy Invitational at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens. The Bulldogs finish the regular season with a trip to Auburn's Evans Derby Experience on March 28-30.
“On the women's golf side, rankings are about who you play and how talented the field is that you're competing against head to head,” Brown-lemm said. “You get invited to play in these tournaments. If you don't have a good rapport with the host coach, then you won't be playing in the event. We are blessed to have a good reputation because of the young women who represent this university well and are good performers on the golf course. From a ranking standpoint, the strength of the field you compete against is one of the strongest indicators as to where you will be ranked, and our schedule presents us with a great opportunity to compete against some of the best in the country.”
The Evans Derby Experience serves as MSU'S final preparation for the Southeastern Conference Championship, which will be contested April 15-19 at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Birmingham.