Women's Golf Takes Center Stage at Prestigious East Lake Cup

ATLANTA – The Ole Miss women's golf team wraps up their fall season this week by competing in the prestigious East Lake Cup, in Atlanta.

The three-day event will begin Monday, Oct. 26 and will be televised live every day on the Golf Channel from 2 until 5 p.m. CT.

The exclusive East Lake Cup ordinarily takes the top four teams from the previous NCAA Championships. As a result of COVID-19 and the 2020 NCAA Championship being canceled, the field this year will include the top-four ranked women's and men's golf programs (competing this fall), based on the final Golfstat rankings published on March 19.

The Rebels will be joined in the women's field by Texas and SEC rivals, South Carolina and Florida. On the men's side, Pepperdine, Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Texas will also compete in the tournament.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Monday, Oct. 26 – 18 holes, Stroke Play (Rebels tee off at 9:55 a.m. CT)
Tuesday, Oct. 27 – Match Play Semifinals
Wednesday, Oct. 28 – Match Play Finals

THE LINEUP

Julia Johnson (Sr.)
-- Tallied an 11th place finish at Blessings Collegiate to open the season
-- Finished tied for 22nd at The Ally in second fall tournament in 2020
-- Averaging stroke average of 73.33 over first two tournaments
-- Been in lineup all 36 team tournaments since arriving on campus
-- 2019-20 Second Team All-American (WGCA)
-- 2019-20 Third Team All-American (Golfweek)

Kennedy Swann (Sr.)
-- Finished 11th at Blessings Collegiate to begin 2020-21 season
-- Tallied a 22nd place showing last week at The Ally
-- 73.33 stroke average over first six rounds of 2020
-- Using fifth-year of eligibility to return and pursue her MBA
-- Finished fifth 2020 U.S. Women's Amateur
-- 2019-20 Second Team All-SEC

Andrea Lignell (So.)
-- Registered an 11th place finish in first tourney of the season at The Blessings Collegiate
-- 74.00 stroke average over first two tournaments
-- One top-10 and four top-20 finishes in six career tournaments
-- 2019-20 SEC All-Freshman Team

Ellen Hume (Jr.)
-- Led team with 12th place finish at The Ally (70-73-73—216)
-- Fired a team-best 2-under, 70 during the final round of the Blessings Collegiate
-- Transfer from Charleston Southern
-- 2019 English Women's Amateur champion

Chiara Tamburlini (So.)
-- Finished 22nd in first appearance of 2020 (76-72-70—218)
-- Tied for team-best round of 70 (-2) during final round at The Ally
-- Leads team with 72.66 stroke average this season.
-- Has registered two top-five finishes in four career tournaments

THE FIELD

No. 1 South Carolina
No. 5 Ole Miss
No. 8 Florida
No. 14 Texas

THE COURSE

Located in Atlanta, Georgia, East Lake Golf Club is the home course of legendary golfer Bobby Jones and is the oldest golf course in the city of Atlanta. The Club is not only historic, but philanthropic as well. Proceeds from operations – more than $20 million to date – support the East Lake Foundation, which has helped transform one of the nation's worst public housing projects into a thriving community. Since 2005, East Lake has been the permanent home of the TOUR Championship, the culminating event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedEx Cup, with only the top 30 players on the points list qualifying each year.

TV COVERAGE

Golf Channel will provide live coverage every day from Atlanta from 2 until 5 p.m. CT. The broadcast team will be anchored by Bob Papa, Curt Byrum and Steve Burkowski in the broadcast booth. Billy Ray Brown also will contribute to coverage as an on-course reporter. Preceding live tournament coverage will be a special College Central show outlining top storylines each day from 1-2 p.m. CT. Cara Banks will host College Central and be joined in-studio by Tripp Isenhour and college insider Ryan Lavner. Burkowski will offer reports from onsite at East Lake Golf Club.

BUILDING A POWERHOUSE

Kory Henkes took over the Ole Miss program in 2015 and has turned the Rebels into a top-tier program. Henkes has led the Rebels to two straight NCAA Championship berths and a No. 11 final ranking in the WGCA Coaches Poll last season. The Rebels were one of only two teams nationally to have four or more wins in 2019-20. Ole Miss also won its first SEC Championship in school history under Henke's guidance in 2019.

REBELS RANKED NO. 5 IN LATEST GOLFWEEK RANKINGS

The Rebels debuted at No. 5 in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings late last week. Ole Miss has finished fourth in both fall tournaments that have prominently featured all SEC programs. Following a record-breaking 2019-20 season, the Rebels ended the season with their best final rankings in program history. Ole Miss ranked No. 11 in the WGCA Coaches Poll, No. 12 in Golfstat's team rankings, and No. 13 on Golfweek's national rankings at the end of last year's shortened season. The Rebels were one of only two teams nationally to have four or more wins on the year.

EAST LAKE FOUNDATION

The event benefits the East Lake Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to helping families build better lives and children reach their highest potential. The foundation fosters a holistic approach to community revitalization, incorporating mixed-income housing, cradle-to-college education and community wellness. The East Lake Cup is one of the largest contributors to the East Lake Foundation, having raised more than $1.5 million for the foundation since the tournament's inception in 2015.

FOLLOW THE REBELS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

For all Ole Miss women's golf latest news and information, follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWGolf, on Instagram at OleMissWGolf and on Facebook at Ole Miss Women's Golf. General athletic news can also be found at @OleMissSports on Twitter, Ole Miss Sports on Facebook, and OleMissAthletics on Instagram.

RebelsCalendar

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ellen Hume

Julia Johnson

Andrea Lignell

Kennedy Swann

Chiara Tamburlini

The University of Mississippi Athletics