The University of Mississippi Athletics
Harris Pushing for More Wins This Spring
1/30/2017 | Women's Golf
Katy Harris is trying to reverse a trend.
The Ole Miss women's golf junior has one win in each of her three collegiate seasons-the first two came in her freshman and sophomore years at Mercer, and the third unfolded in the Rebels' final competition during the fall season in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.
But that trend continuing would mean a winless spring for the St. Simons Island, Georgia native, which isn't in her plans for the coming weeks.
"I've won one tournament every year of college-one freshman, one sophomore, one junior-so I really want to change it up and maybe win a couple more this year," Harris said.
Coming off the first individual tournament victory for Ole Miss in the Kory Henkes era, Harris has reason to be confident. That, and an accompanying fourth-place team finish at the Ron Moore Women's Intercollegiate, raised the bar for the Rebels going into the spring season, fostering exactly the competitive atmosphere Henkes is looking to establish in her second year in Oxford.
The fit has been perfect for both the Rebels and for Harris, who picked Ole Miss as her transfer destination after two stellar years at Mercer, highlighted by two wins, each coming in impressive fashion.
Her collegiate golf career began with a win in her very first tournament, the 2013 Eat A Peach Collegiate. Harris wasn't on the counting roster for Mercer, but she competed as an individual at Pine Lakes Golf Course on Jekyll Island, Georgia, a stone's throw from Katy's hometown, St. Simons Island. She had played the course numerous times growing up, and she played it to near-perfection that September weekend.
The following September, Harris put together a hole-in-one fueled triumph for her second career win in the 2014 Forest Hills Classic, hosted by UNC Greensboro.
"That was really nice. I played a lot of high school golf there and I was very familiar with the course, so I had a little bit of a leg up. It was a really great way to start my freshman year," Harris said. "The second one I won was at UNCG's tournament my sophomore year. I had a hole-in-one in that tournament. It was a really big win."
With two wins in her first two seasons, Harris felt it was time to take the next step. After going through the transfer process, she found her new home at Ole Miss. She sat out last spring and hit the course for the Rebels, where she captured her third win in three fall seasons. Now, the new objective is capturing her first spring win.
"I feel really confident. Coming off of a win going into the spring, it helps a lot," Harris said. "I spent my break just tweaking things, not really making any big changes, just tightening everything up to be able to compete with the best this spring."
Harris worked with her swing coach back home and competed in the South Atlantic Women's Amateur Championship-more affectionately known as the SALLY-in January. In a four-round tune-up for this fall, Harris competed against a stacked field of golfers, ranging from some of the SEC and NCAA's best to young phenoms from the junior golf circuit.
"They threw a great tournament. There were a lot of really good college players and junior golfers," Harris said. "I did ok. I was a little rusty, but for me, it was a good warm up before coming back to school."
Now back on campus, Harris is continuing that work with the Ole Miss coaching staff in preparation for the team's first spring event, the Central District Tournament, Feb. 20-21. Leading up to that, it's more competition for Henkes' Rebels: an eight-round qualifying tournament, and the top three finishers are guaranteed a spot in the spring opener in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Harris, of course, is a fan of the highly competitive qualifying setup. It's part of another trend reversal going on with the Ole Miss women's golf program. Henkes is working to build a program that challenges for tournament wins every weekend, and Harris is right at the center of the revival.
"Anytime you have someone who can win on a team, it's huge," Henkes said of Harris. "It's hard to win a golf tournament. And that pushes her teammates to want to get right there with her. She's always joking with (senior Madisen Bentley), 'I'll get first, you get second.' So it's a good competition that they have with each other. They want to win. They don't want to lose, so they just keep joking with each other and pushing each other."
Competition, success and wins are all priorities for Henkes' group, but they still know how to have a good time on the course, making for a perfect balance at the Ole Miss golf house.
"We have dinners, we hang out. I feel like we're really close as a team," Harris said, "and I think our team dynamic is awesome right now."
In three weeks, the Rebels will tee off at St. Lucie Trail Golf Club to open the 2017 spring campaign.
For all Ole Miss women's golf news and information, go to OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWGolf and Facebook at Ole Miss Women's Golf.
Players Mentioned
