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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Hawkeye El Tigre Invitational
Hermansson in First Place After First Round in Mexico
4/2/2017 | Women's Golf
RESULTS 
PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico - Freshman Pi-Lillebi Hermansson sits in sole possession of first place after the first 18 holes of El Tigre Invitational on Sunday.
The Djursholm, Sweden native fired her second-lowest round as a Rebel, 1-under par (71), to claim the top spot on the individual leaderboard at El Tigre Golf Club. Hermansson's outstanding start to the tournament has Ole Miss in third place after finishing 10-over (298) on Day 1.
"Pi played really well today," said head coach Kory Henkes. "She didn't hit a lot of greens, but her short game was right where she needed it to be today. She only had 26 putts, which is a huge accomplishment. We're really proud of Pi. She had a great attitude and just played some great golf today."
Hermansson recorded three birdies, including one on her last hole of the day, as well as 13 pars to edge fellow Swede Martina Edberg of Cal State Fullerton, the No. 17 ranked golfer in the nation. The Ole Miss freshman stands ahead of three of GolfStat's top 100 golfers: Edberg (E), No. 66 Brooke Ferrell (+1) of Wisconsin and No. 89 Malene Krolboll Hansen (+3) of Coastal Carolina.
"I have been working a lot on putting recently and it is always fun seeing hard work paying off," Hermansson said. "However, my fairway and green hits were not impressive today and I plan on improving those numbers tomorrow."
Junior Katy Harris also birdied her final hole of the day to close up at 3-over (75), just outside the top 20. Sophomore Martina Flori is right in the mix as well at 2-over (74). Flori had a steady day, successfully navigating a hazard-heavy course with 14 pars. Sophomore Kie Purdom rounded out the counting four for Ole Miss at 6-over (78) and as the fourth Rebel in the top 50.
"Marti had a great round as well. She finished 2-over par today but still hit 16 out of 18 greens. A lot of good stuff from the Rebels today," Henkes said. "I think it was a great start to the tournament, and we know we can do a lot better the next two days. We're really proud of the team and excited to get back out there."
Ole Miss will tee off at 2 p.m. CT Monday.
Standings
1. Washington: 295--295 (+7)
2. UTSA: 297--297 (+9)
3. Ole Miss: 298--298 (+10)
4. No. 49 Wisconsin: 299--299 (+11)
5. Kansas: 301--301 (+13)
6. Idaho: 302--302 (+14)
T7. Coastal Carolina: 303--303 (+15)
T7. Kennesaw State: 303--303 (+15)
T9. Indiana: 307--307 (+19)
T9. Cal State Fullerton: 307--307 (+19)
11. Rutgers: 308--308 (+20)
12. New Mexico State: 309--309 (+21)
13. Iowa: 317--317 (+29)
14. Nebraska: 318--318 (+30)
Ole Miss Rebels
1. Pi-Lillebi Hermansson: 71--71 (-1)
T11. Martina Flori: 74--74 (+2)
T21. Katy Harris: 75--75 (+3)
T43. Kie Purdom: 78--78 (+6)
T62. Maria Toennessen: 82--82 (+10)
*T68. Madisen Bentley: 84--84 (+12)
* - Competing as an individual
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
