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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Round 1
Rebel Golf Freshmen Shine in Round 1 at Auburn
3/18/2018 | Women's Golf
Round 1 Results 
| Round 2 Pairings | Live Scoring | Live Tweeting | Tournament Notes
AUBURN, Ala. – The Ole Miss women’s golf team has two freshmen in the top 15 after Round 1 of the Evans Derby Experience.
Julia Johnson (-2) and Conner Beth Ball (-1) both found their way under par after the first round at the challenging Auburn University Club. As a group, the Rebels are 9-over par, sitting in 10th place.
“This is the best field that I’ve ever been a part of in my life,” Johnson said. “The course is really difficult. To come into this tournament and put a solid round together is important for me to know that I can play against these girls and I can do it well. It’s a huge confidence booster. I’m happy with a solid first day. But we have two more days, and it’s a really hard course. So we’ll see what happens.”
The Rebels were paired with a pair of SEC powers in No. 2 Alabama and No. 12 Florida, and Johnson and Ball rose to the occasion. They each birdied the first hole to start the day strong.
From there, their days differed.
“It felt so good,” Ball said. “I feel like I've been struggling with finding my competitive tempo these past few weeks, so being able to find it in a tournament with great competition like this was just perfect timing.”
Johnson picked up another birdie on the front nine as well as a couple of bogeys to get to level back out at even par before settling in. The freshman from St. Gabriel, Louisiana, parred her next seven holes before a birdie took her under par. Then came the second eagle of her collegiate career on Auburn University Club’s par-5 16th.
“It was probably the best hole I’ve ever played in my life,” Johnson said. “The driver shot on that hole is kind of hard, but you can also set yourself up in position to do really well on that hole. I hit a very good driver and had 170 left. I hit a 7-iron to maybe 12 feet. Then
Sophomore Pi-Lillebi Hermansson turned in the third counting score for Ole Miss at 5-over (77), including a birdie on 18 to close the day. Junior Diane Lim, competing as an individual, also went 5-over and birdied her second-to-last hole. Senior Katy Harris and junior Kie Purdom tied for the fourth counting spot at 7-over (79).
The field will split into foursomes for a shotgun-start Round 2. Ole Miss is paired with Louisville, Mississippi State
Chip-Ins
• Ole Miss is one of 10 top-50 teams at the Evans Derby Experience, including three of the top five teams in the nation.
• The 75-person field features 29 golfers in the top 100, including eight of Golfstat’s top 15 golfers.
• The Rebels increased their single-season program record to 45 individual rounds under par.
• Johnson carded her second-career eagle, tying Hermansson for the most this season. It was one of four shot at the tournament in Round 1.
• It marked Ole Miss’ first eagle of the spring and fourth of the season.
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• Ball led the Rebels with five birdies on the day, giving her 60 on the season. Her five birdies tied her for fifth at The Experience.
• Johnson posted her team-leading 11th round at par or under this season, while Ball tallied her eighth round at par or under this season, and her first of the spring.
The Rebels
T9. Julia Johnson: 70--70 (-2)
T13. Conner Beth Ball: 71--71 (-1)
T55. Pi-Lillebi Hermansson: 77--77 (+5)
*T55. Diane Lim: 77--77 (+5)
T65. Katy Harris: 79--79 (+7)
T65. Kie Purdom: 79--79 (+7)
Team Standings
1. #31 Florida State: 278--278 (-10)
2. #3 Arkansas: 280--280 (-8)
T3. #27 Auburn: 285--285 (-3)
T3. #5 Duke: 285--285 (-3)
5. #9 South Carolina: 286--286 (-2)
6. #2 Alabama: 288--288 (E)
7. #12 Florida: 292--292 (+4)
8. #22 Wake Forest: 293--293 (+5)
9. #26 Louisville: 295--295 (+7)
10. #41 Ole Miss: 297--297 (+9)
T11. Mississippi State: 302--302 (+14)
T11. Michigan: 302--302 (+14)
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.
