University of Georgia Athletics
Experienced Dogs Start Strong
September 07, 2016 | Women's Golf
By John Frierson
UGAAA Staff Writer
DULUTH, Ga. — They were freshmen of great promise and expectations a year ago, all three of them. And they delivered time and again.
Now they are sophomores — Bailey Tardy, Rinko Mitsunaga and Jillian Hollis — veterans now of the top of the college game and eager for more than they accomplished a year ago. And they accomplished plenty.
Tardy was a first-team All-American, along with then-junior Harang Lee, and Hollis earned third-team honors. Tardy had eight top-10 finishes and won two events, while Hollis and Mitsunaga also played consistently well and posted individual wins. More importantly, they helped lead the Bulldogs to five tournament wins.
Ranked outside the top 25 to start last season, Georgia finished No. 5 in the country in the final Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. And with nearly the entire Georgia roster from last season back, the Bulldogs were ranked No. 3 in the preseason poll.
"We're going to get used to playing with a bullseye on our back and, hey, it's much better to be there than trying to sneak around and surprise somebody," coach Josh Brewer said Tuesday, following a great start to his team's season.
Georgia open their fall schedule in the 36-hole Cardinal Kickoff, a one-day event hosted by Louisville. Led by Mitsunaga's even-par 144, the Dogs posted a six-shot win at Berkeley Hills Country Club. The Bulldogs posted a team score of 586, followed by Auburn at 591.
Harang Lee, one of three Bulldogs playing as individuals in the event, shared medalist honors with a score of 141, highlighted by a final-round 68. It was the first first-place finish of her collegiate career after repeatedly knocking on the door — last season Lee had four top-five finishes.
Tardy had the second-best counting score for the team at 1-over 145. Hollis shot 5-over for the day and junior Isabella Skinner posted 6-over.
A year ago, when the freshmen made their collegiate debuts in the Cardinal Kickoff, Mitsunaga said she was very nervous. That's not the case anymore.
"I didn't know what to expect and it was my first time ever playing with a team, so I was definitely kind of shaking a little bit," she said. "This year I feel a lot more comfortable and there's a lot more confidence in my game."
Tardy, Mitsunaga and Hollis have played and won collegiate events. Tardy and Mitsunaga qualified for and played in the U.S. Women's Open over the summer. If they were ever wide-eyed freshmen, they're certainly not now.
"Maybe game-wise things haven't changed much, but in terms of confidence and mentally things have gotten a lot better after I made it to the U.S. Open," Mitsunaga said. "I'm definitely a lot more comfortable with my golf game, more comfortable with myself, so that's why I'm excited to start off this year."
Tardy said her short game is a lot better than it was this time last year and she's added some distance off the tee. That distance was evident on No. 13 Tuesday, when on the par-4 she outdrove her two competitors by about 30 yards.
"I did the math and it's kind of scary but I hit it like 310, which is like super weird," Tardy said with a big smile. "I had been hitting my driver poorly all day, so to finally hit on the sweet spot, I was like, dang, I want to do that again.
"I think those are the shots that make you come back to golf, whether you're a really good golfer or just like a weekend golfer."
For Brewer, Tuesday had to be satisfying because all eight Bulldogs that competed finished in the top 20 of the indivudual standings. Of the three players that didn't finish in the top five of Georgia's qualifying, two of them posted scores that would have counted: Harang Lee's 141 and Sammi Lee's 148.
"We have depth, that's the fun thing for me as a coach," Brewer said. "It's what I've tried to build, build, build, and I think the players appreciate it, too. We qualify (for the five players in the lineup), we don't pick. They control their destiny and they know if they just keep working and keep posting good scores, they're going to get in the lineup."
As much success as the trio and all the Bulldogs had last season, they also experienced the bitter taste of disappointment. Georgia placed sixth in the SEC Championships, but then bounced back in the NCAA Regional in Bryan, Texas, winning the event and having the medalist in Tardy.
But then came the NCAA Championships, when Georgia struggled from the start and finished tied for 18th.
It was an "awful" finish, Mitsunaga said, "so I think that's actually a better motivation for this year, to kind of prove to ourselves that we have the best team possible right now. I think we started off definitely in a great way."
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
