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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Ole Miss
Valspar Augusta Invitational
No. 18 Women’s Golf Set to Defend Title at Valspar Augusta Invitational
3/10/2023 | Women's Golf
54-Hole Tournament to Take Place at Forest Hills Golf Club on March 11-12
AUGUSTA, Ga. – After winning the team championship at the Valspar Augusta Invitational just a season ago, the Ole Miss women's golf team returns to Augusta, Georgia, looking to defend their team title March 11-12, at Forest Hills Golf Club.
Taking place over two days and 54 holes, the tournament features seven programs ranked within the Top 50 of Golfstat's Team Rankings. Of those seven, six find themselves currently in the Top 25, including the Rebels at No. 18 overall.
| TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE |
Saturday, March 11 – 36 holes of stroke play
Sunday, March 12 – 18 holes of stroke play
| LINEUP |
Andrea Lignell (Sr.*)
-- Leads the team with a stroke average of 71.00 in 2022-23
-- Captured her first two career medalist finishes for the Rebels in the fall at the Cougar Classic and The Ally
-- Shot a 204 (-9) at the Cougar Classic, marking a new career-low 54-hole score and tying her for the second-lowest 54-hole score in program history
-- Has finished in the top 3 individually in five of her seven tournament appearances
-- Named to ANNIKA Award Final Fall Watch List
Chiara Tamburlini (Sr.*)
-- Carries a 72.94 season stroke average in 2022-23
-- 2021-22 WGCA First-Team All-American
-- 2022 Edith Cummings Munson Golf Award winner
-- Received invitation to play in the 2023 Augusta National Women's Amateur
-- Named to ANNIKA Award Preseason Watch List
-- Named to ANNIKA Award Final Fall Watch List
Elle Johnson (Sr.*)
-- Currently shooting a season stroke average of 75.71 in 2022-23
-- Made her Rebel debut at the Cougar Classic, finishing tied for 34th
-- Nearly cracked the top 20 at The Ally after competing as an individual, shooting a 227 to finish 27th
-- Left Florida State having the 19th-best career stroke average (75.61) in program history
-- 2022 Florida Women's Amateur Stroke Play Champion
-- Shot a course record round of 65 (-6) at Coral Creek Club in Placida, Florida to help claim the Florida Am title
Natacha Host Husted (So.)
-- Brings a 2022-23 stroke average of 75.00 into the Bahamas
-- Grabbed a tie for 13th at the season-opening Cougar Classic
-- Earned her second straight top 20 finish after finishing 18th at the Blessings Invite-- Finished in the top 20 once again at The Ally, claiming a share of 13th
-- 2021-22 SEC All-Freshman Team selection
Nicole Gal (Fr.)
-- Shooting a stroke average of 75.00 in her freshman campaign
-- Made her collegiate debut for the Rebels at The Ally, where she finished tied for 25th
-- Set a new career-low 54-hole score of 224 (+11) at the Battle at the Beach to finish 60th
-- 2022 USGA Girls' Junior Championships Quarterfinalist
-- 2021 National Junior Girls Champion
Ellen Hume (Sr.*) - competing as an individual
-- Holds a season stroke average of 75.10
-- Earned a third place finish at The Ally, shooting an even 216 on the week
-- Started season off with a 13th place finish at the Cougar Classic
-- Six career top 20 finishes for the Rebels since joining the team for the 2020-21 season
-- Co-Champion of the 2020 East Lake Cup after shooting a round of 69 (-3)
| THE FIELD |
Augusta
No. 47 Alabama
Coastal Carolina
No. 24 Duke
No. 21 Florida
No. 12 Florida State
Furman
Georgia Southern
Minnesota
No. 16 Oklahoma State
No. 18 Ole Miss
USF
Virginia Tech
No. 2 Wake Forest
| THE COURSE |
Playing at 6,244 yards as a par 72, Augusta University's Forest Hills Golf Club is a much loved staple within the Augusta, Georgia golf community. The course was originally designed by world renowned course architect Donald Ross, before being later renovated by the Arnold Palmer Company in 2003. Forest Hills is home to the Men's and Women's Augusta Jaguars Golf Teams, and also plays host to the annual 3M Augusta Invitational, which has featured players including Phil Mickelson, Davis Love III, Dustin Johnson, Justin Leonard, and Charles Howell III.
| REBELS IN THE RANKINGS |
Ole Miss heads into their weekend in Georgia clocking in as the No. 18 team in the country according to Golfstat, as well as sitting No. 19 overall in the Golfweek/Sagarin NCAA Team Rankings for the week. Andrea Lignell continues to pace the Rebels on the individual side of rankings, ranking as the No. 3 golfer in the country according to Golfweek while sitting at No. 8 in Golfstat's NCAA Individual Rankings. Chiara Tamburlini also continues to creep back up in the rankings following a strong weekend in Gainesville, now holding the No. 37 and No. 40 spots in the Golfweek and Golfstat rankings, respectively.
| HISTORIC RUN FOR LIGNELL CONTINUES |
Senior Andrea Lignell's 2022-23 season continues to propel the Gothenburg, Sweden, native up amongst many other Ole Miss women's golf greats as her strong year carries into the final few tournaments of the season. Lignell, who has now earned a Top 3 finish in five of her seven tournament appearances on the year, has already captured two individual tournament wins with victories at the Cougar Classic and The Ally. This makes Lignell the second Rebel in program history to have two individual tournament wins in one season, with the other being Julia Johnson during the 2017-18 season. The senior already has one program record under her belt, now holding sole possession for most rounds in 60s in a single season with nine on the year after posting two 67s at the Gators Invitational last weekend.
| LAST TIME OUT IN AUGUSTA |
The Rebels will be looking to defend their tournament title from last year's installment of the Valspar Augusta Invitational, where the team battled difficult conditions to end up with a 590 (+14) and a share of the team championship. Then-junior Chiara Tamburlini led the charge for the Ole Miss lineup, finishing two-over and in sole possession of fourth place when all was said and done at Forest Hills Golf Club. Top 10 Finishes by Andrea Lignell and Julia Johnson also helped secure the Rebel tournament win, at the time marking the team's first regular season tournament win since February 23, 2021.
| REBEL DUO NAMED TO THE ANNIKA AWARD FINAL FALL WATCH LIST |
Andrea Lignell and Chiara Tamburlini found themselves amongst 20 of the nation's top collegiate women's golfers named to The ANNIKA Award Final Fall Watch List, presented by Stifel. The award is given annually to the most outstanding women's college golfer, as voted on by players, coaches and media. Both of the Rebel seniors have dominated the fall season for the Rebels, logging top 10 individual finishes in each of their tournament appearances this year for the team, including two tournament wins for Lignell. This marks the second time that two Rebels have found their way onto the award's final fall watch list, with the last time being in 2020 when Ellen Hume and Kennedy Swann both were tabbed on the list following their fall seasons.
| LIGNELL AND TAMBURLINI RECEIVE INVITES TO ANWA |
The senior Rebel duo of Andrea Lignell and Chiara Tamburlini received invitations to the 2023 installment of the prestigious Augusta National Women's Amateur, marking the first time of either golfer's career that they've received an invitation to play at the ANWA. The tournament, taking place a week before The Masters, will feature 72 of the best women's amateur golfers in the world and will be held at the Champions Retreat Golf Club. Following the second round, the field will be cut to 30 with the final round to be played at Augusta National. Recent Rebel alumnus Julia Johnson also earned an invitation to the 2023 iteration of the tournament, marking the fourth consecutive Augusta National Women's Amateur that she's received an invitation to.
| 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.
Players Mentioned
