The Missouri State women's golf team will host 14 other teams Monday and Tuesday (Sept. 21-22) at the annual MSU/Payne Stewart Memorial at Rivercut Golf Course in Springfield. The 54-hole event is named in honor of the late Springfield native, Ryder Cup team member and two-time U.S. Open champion who perished in a plane crash nearly 10 years ago. Competition is slated for 36 holes and an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start Monday with the final 18 on Tuesday at the same time.
The Bears are coming off a ninth-place finish at the season-opening Chip-N-Club Invitational in Lincoln, Neb., last Monday and Tuesday. They were led by sophomore Catherine Dolan, who carded 79-78-72--229 for a tie for 27th. She finished third in last year's event, her first collegiate tournament, shooting 73-74--147 and leading MSU to a third-place finish.
This week's lineup for MSU will feature Dolan, senior Stacey Rodger, sophomore Kelsey Welber and freshmen Heather Smith and Hermine Greyling. Amy Bowen, Emma Clegg, Emily Matthews and Emily Potts will play as individuals for the Bears.
Rivercut is a par 72 layout that will play to 6,091 yards for the tournament. It's a highly-decorated course that has been ranked in the top five public courses in Missouri by Golfweek and, just last month, was honored as the top municipal course in the state by Golf Digest.
In addition to the Bears, the field will include Arkansas State, Bradley, Cal State Fullerton, Central Arkansas, Creighton, Drake, Oklahoma City, South Dakota, South Dakota State, Southern Illinois, SIUE, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UMKC and UNI. The event will be the first for a Cal State Fullerton program that has been rejuvenated after being disbanded in 1988.
