The University of Mississippi Athletics
Harris Advances to Semis in Georgia Match Play Championship
6/2/2017 | Women's Golf, Blog
By Alex Sims for OleMissSports.com
EATONTON, Ga. -รย Ole Miss women's golf rising senior Katy Harris is playing some excellent golf so far at the Georgia Match Play Championship, and she's feeling good for the final two rounds on Saturday.
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Harris qualified for match play at Reynolds Plantation's Great Waters course as the No. 10 seed, and she topped the No. 7 seed and No. 2 seed to advance to the semifinal round.
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"I'm proud of my performance," Harris said. "I recently made some changes to my swing and am pleased with how it's coming along so far. Hopefully I can keep it together and pull out a win tomorrow."
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Representing St. Simons Island, Georgia, Harris first faced a fellow SEC golfer in Vanderbilt commit Louise Yu. The 2016 Palmetto Intercollegiate champion won four holes in a six-hole span midway through the round to build a big lead, though Yu mounted a late charge to make things interesting.
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"Louise is a good player and is going to be a freshman at Vanderbilt, so I knew from the beginning it was going to be a good match," Harris said. "I was up pretty much all day, but coming down the stretch, Louise started catching up, winning 16 and 17 for me to only be 1 up going into 18. She put up a good fight and I enjoyed the round."
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After escaping with a tight 1 upรย victoryรย in the Round of 16, Harris had just 30 minutes to catch her breath and prepare for a new opponent in the quarterfinals, Hannah Barger out of Charleston Southern.
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Despite the quick turnaround, Harris put together a tremendous start to the match, winning three out of the first five holes to take control early and cruise to a victory, clinching at 3 up with two to go.
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"The second round was going really well right off the bat. I should have been 5 up through five, but made a few careless swings that only put me 3 up through five," Harris said. "I was just trying to stay focused through my second match. It was really hot today with no wind to keep it cool, so I was just trying not to get tired or careless out there, which is the key to winning a match on the second half of the day."รย รย
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Harris will tee off at 8:24 a.m. ET Saturday against the winner of Caroline Craig and Ashley Madden. If Harris comes out on top in the semis, she'll play again at 12:40 p.m. ET for the title.
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For all Ole Miss women's golf news and information, go toรย OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter atรย @OleMissWGolfรย and Facebook atรย Ole Miss Women's Golf. รย
