Women’s Golf Begins Fall Campaign at ANNIKA Intercollegiate

LAKE ELMO, Minn. – Coming off of the team's 2021 NCAA National Championship winning season, the Ole Miss women's golf team is set to officially begin its fall season and title defense at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate in Lake Elmo, Minnesota.

The tournament, which features 11 of the nation's top-30 preseason ranked teams according to GolfChannel.com, will be held Sep. 13-15 at the Royal Golf Club.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Monday, Sep. 13 — 18 holes (Rebels tee off 8:00-8:40 a.m. CT)
Tuesday, Sep. 14 — 18 holes
Wednesday, Sep. 15 — 18 holes

THE LINEUP

Ellen Hume (Sr.)
-- Finished 2020-21 season ranked No. 76 nationally by Golfweek and No. 143 by Golfstat
-- Posted a stroke average of 74.50 for 2020-21
-- Was one of two Rebels to earn an individual tournament win last season
-- Shot her best single (68) and three-day (209) scores at the 2021 SEC Championships

Andrea Lignell (Jr.)
-- Played in all ten tournaments for the Rebels last season
-- Posted a stroke average of 73.17 for the 2020-21 season, the third lowest on the team
-- Earned two top-10 finishes last season, sitting at three now on her career
-- Tied her career low 18-hole score (67) last season at the 2021 Gators Invitational

Julia Johnson (Sr.)

-- 2020-21 WGCA First Team All-American
-- 2020-21 First Team All-SEC
-- Recorded a stroke average of 71.34 in 2020-21, leading her team in the category
-- Finished in the top 5 in five out of the ten tournaments she competed in in 2020-21
-- 2021 Arnold Palmer Cup selection

McKinley Cunningham (RS-Fr.)
-- Making her collegiate debut after redshirting last season
-- Ranked as the No. 2 recruit coming out of the state of Tennessee
-- 2019 Tennessean Sports Award Women's Golf Nominee
-- Tied for sixth at the 2019 Women's Amateur

Smilla Sonderby (So.)
-- Participated in three tournaments her freshman year, including the NCAA Championships
-- Posted a stroke average of 75.22 during the 2020-21 season
-- Golfed her best 18 hole score of 72 at the 2021 NCAA Championships
-- Member of the Danish Ladies' National Team since 2019

THE FIELD

Alabama
Arizona
Arizona State
Duke
LSU
Minnesota
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Texas
UCLA
USC
Wake Forest

THE COURSE

Stretching 6410 yards in the beautiful rolling hills of the St. Croix River Valley, along the shore of Horseshoe Lake, the Royal Golf Club was co-designed by legendary golf pros Arnold Palmer and Annika Sörenstam and plays as a par 72. The first nine holes, known as the Queen's Nine, were designed by Annika Sorenstam, and the back nine, known as the King's Nine, were designed by the late Arnold Palmer. Royal Golf Club is Arnold's last course design, and Annika's first design in the U.S.

REBELS REACH PEAK IN 2021

The 2020-21 season was a season to remember for the Ole Miss women's golf program, as the team was able to capture the 2021 NCAA National Championship, marking the first women's team NCAA title in school history. With match play victories over No. 9 Texas, No. 8 Arizona, and No. 3 Oklahoma State, the Rebels earned a team national title that the university hadn't seen since the football program's 1962 championship win, putting a 59-year drought to rest.

JOHNSON RETURNS

Now entering her fifth year of NCAA eligibility with the Rebels due to COVID-19, All-American Julia Johnson has little left to accomplish to cement herself as one of the greatest golfers in Ole Miss history. Johnson currently sits atop 14-out-of-15 possible individual school records, with the only record she has yet to eclipse being most career individual titles, where she currently sits second all-time with three. Additionally, Johnson has an NCAA record on her resume as well, with her 18-hole score of 61 (-11) at the 2019 Battle at the Beach tying her for the lowest single round score in NCAA women's history.

BACK FOR MORE

Coming off of their 2021 NCAA Championship, the Rebels are set to make another championship push for their 2021-22 campaign. Having only graduated one member of the team's title winning roster, and with the addition of talented freshman Natacha Host Husted of Denmark, Ole Miss enters the fall season with a GolfChannel.com preseason team ranking of No. 3 in the nation.

FALL SLATE

The ANNIKA Intercollegiate marks the first of four tournaments that the Rebels will participate in the 2021 fall season. Next up, Ole Miss will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Blessings Collegiate Oct. 4-6. The Rebels will then travel to Roland, Arkansas to take part in the Jackson T. Stephens Cup Oct. 18-20, before wrapping up their fall season in Atlanta, Georgia for the East Lake Cup Oct. 25-27.

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.

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Players Mentioned

McKinley Cunningham

Natacha Host Husted

Ellen Hume

Julia Johnson

Andrea Lignell

The University of Mississippi Athletics