University of Georgia Athletics
Photo by: Steven Colquitt
Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic Begins Friday
March 18, 2021 | Women's Golf
49th annual event includes many of nation's top team, golfers
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ATHENS, Ga. — The No. 13-ranked Georgia women's golf team will host many of the nation's top teams and golfers this weekend for the 49th Annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic. The tournament tees off at 9:30 a.m. Friday-Sunday at the University of Georgia Golf Course. Admission is free and there are no limits on the number of spectators allowed.
"I'm most excited for our team and their families and friends," head coach Josh Brewer said. "I think our team does a really good job of supporting other teams at Georgia. They love going to events and cheering for their peers. Now it's a chance for them to experience that, with people clapping and barking for them when they make birdies."
Eight of the top-25 teams in the latest Golfstat rankings are featured in the field – No. 1 South Carolina, No. 4 LSU, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 10 Southern Cal, No. 12 Auburn, the No. 13 Bulldogs, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 19 Alabama and No. 22 Florida. Also competing are Charleston, Kentucky, Louisville, Mississippi State, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
"We want to win," Brewer said. "It's our home event on our home golf course. That's pressure, but we want to be in contention on the final day. That's our goal at every tournament. It's getting close to the end of the season, and we need to start to be playing our best golf. Why not do that at home on a golf course you're comfortable with?"
Individually, 28 golfers from the competing teams also have accepted invitations to the Augusta National Women's Amateur on March 30-April 3, including Georgia's Caterina Don, Isabella Holpfer and Candice Mahé.
"I think you'd be hard pressed to find an event with a higher quality field," Brewer said. "We could have 28 golfers competing in the Liz Murphey who are also playing in the Augusta in a couple of weeks. Over a third of the competitors here are competing in Augusta too. This is a great opportunity to showcase the best golfers in our game on our own championship golf course."
All 10 of Georgia's golfers will compete in the tournament as two separate teams. Jenny Bae, Don, Caroline Craig, Jo Hua Hung and Céleste Dao will comprise a "red" team, while Mahé, Holpfer, Gabriela Coello, Alison Crenshaw and Zoë Walker will form a "black" team.
"We're fortunate to have an event like the Liz Murphey to be able to showcase our entire team," Brewer said. "We are a very deep team. Some times, it's hard to get the right five competing. This weekend gives everyone an equally opportunity to play under tournament conditions. To me, you want every golfer with an equal chance to compete for the individual crown. This weekend, everyone on our roster has that chance."
The UGA golf course has a long association with women's college golf. In addition to the Liz Murphey, the course has hosted the national championships five times, doing so in 1971, 1981, 1983, 1993 and 2013.
"For me, playing on our home course is fun," Hung said. "We can see a lot of UGA supporters who will cheer for us and some even bark for us when we get birdies. That's always fun and exciting. The whole team has been working so hard. Recently, we've focused on our short game because we've traveled a lot and played on a lot of different types of grass. So we've spent a lot of time around the greens, working on chip and putt. Myself, in tournaments, I just try to play my own game and focus shot by shot."
"I think UGA is a really tricky golf course," Don said. "The greens are really hard. Some times you don't get the right read, and I've been playing on those greens for two years now. I feel like you have to respect the golf course. There are some holes where you can't push yourself. You just have to get a par and go. You have a lot of holes where you have a good chance to make birdie. It all depends on the wind and other conditions. You have to be a good player overall to score at this golf course."
While unlimited spectators will be welcome at the tournament, several guidelines listed below are in place to combat the spread of COVID-19.
• Spectators will be required to keep a safe distance of more than 6 feet from competitors and coaches at all times.
• Spectators will be required to wear masks within all golf course buildings and also around the course when social distancing can not be observed.
• Spectators will be required to wear masks at all times around the tee boxes at holes No. 1 and No. 10 and the greens on holes No. 9 and No. 18.
• The area around the aforementioned tees and greens will be roped off and all spectators will be required to remain on the paved cart paths or beyond in those areas.
• The number of patrons allowed into the clubhouse's snack bar and restroom facilities will be monitored.
"A year ago today I left Georgia for COVID so it's really exciting to be able to be here and play," Don said. "Playing at home is different. We know the golf course. We've played it enough. We're really excited to go out and show what we've got."
Pairings for Friday are as follows:
Hole No. 1
9:35-10:15 - Georgia, Southern Cal, South Carolina
10:25-11:05 - LSU, Tennessee, Florida
11:15-11:55 - Arkansas, Louisville, Vanderbilt
Hole No. 10
9:30-10:10 - Charleston, Auburn, Ole Miss
10:20-11:00 - Texas A&M, Alabama, Mississippi State
11:10-11:50 - Georgia, Missouri, Kentucky
Pairings for Saturday and Sunday will be determined the standings following the first and second rounds, respectively.
Live scoring will be available throughout the tournament at golfstat.com.
About the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic
The Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic is one of the oldest continuous sporting events in women's intercollegiate athletics. The tournament originally began in 1973 as the Georgia Invitational and was contested as the Women's Southern Intercollegiates from 1977-94. In 1995, the tourney was renamed in honor of Liz Murphey, UGA's Hall of Fame golf coach and long-time Senior Woman Administrator. The list of golfers who have competed in the event reads like a "Who's Who" of women's golf, including hall of famer's Beth Daniel, Betsy King and Julie Inkster and recent medalists include current LPGA standouts such as Jillian Hollis, Cheyenne Knight and Gaby Lopez.
About Liz Murphey
Liz Murphey was one of the leading figures in the development and evolution of women's intercollegiate athletics, both on the national level and at the University of Georgia. Murphey arrived in Athens in 1967, joining UGA's faculty as an assistant professor and women's golf coach. Her career progressed into her serving as UGA Athletics' first Senior Woman Administrator. As a coach, Murphey was the Women's Golf Coaches Association's first ever National Coach of the Year in 1984 and was a charter member of the organization's hall of fame in 1986. As an administrator, she hired many of UGA's most successful coaches ever, including and current head coaches Jack Bauerle (swimming & diving) and Jeff Wallace (tennis) and retired hall-of-famers Andy Landers (basketball), Beans Kelly (golf) and Suzanne Yoculan (gymnastics). That quartet of coaches has combined to lead Georgia teams to 19 NCAA Championships and 45 SEC Championships.
ATHENS, Ga. — The No. 13-ranked Georgia women's golf team will host many of the nation's top teams and golfers this weekend for the 49th Annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic. The tournament tees off at 9:30 a.m. Friday-Sunday at the University of Georgia Golf Course. Admission is free and there are no limits on the number of spectators allowed.
"I'm most excited for our team and their families and friends," head coach Josh Brewer said. "I think our team does a really good job of supporting other teams at Georgia. They love going to events and cheering for their peers. Now it's a chance for them to experience that, with people clapping and barking for them when they make birdies."
Eight of the top-25 teams in the latest Golfstat rankings are featured in the field – No. 1 South Carolina, No. 4 LSU, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 10 Southern Cal, No. 12 Auburn, the No. 13 Bulldogs, No. 16 Arkansas, No. 19 Alabama and No. 22 Florida. Also competing are Charleston, Kentucky, Louisville, Mississippi State, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
"We want to win," Brewer said. "It's our home event on our home golf course. That's pressure, but we want to be in contention on the final day. That's our goal at every tournament. It's getting close to the end of the season, and we need to start to be playing our best golf. Why not do that at home on a golf course you're comfortable with?"
Individually, 28 golfers from the competing teams also have accepted invitations to the Augusta National Women's Amateur on March 30-April 3, including Georgia's Caterina Don, Isabella Holpfer and Candice Mahé.
"I think you'd be hard pressed to find an event with a higher quality field," Brewer said. "We could have 28 golfers competing in the Liz Murphey who are also playing in the Augusta in a couple of weeks. Over a third of the competitors here are competing in Augusta too. This is a great opportunity to showcase the best golfers in our game on our own championship golf course."
All 10 of Georgia's golfers will compete in the tournament as two separate teams. Jenny Bae, Don, Caroline Craig, Jo Hua Hung and Céleste Dao will comprise a "red" team, while Mahé, Holpfer, Gabriela Coello, Alison Crenshaw and Zoë Walker will form a "black" team.
"We're fortunate to have an event like the Liz Murphey to be able to showcase our entire team," Brewer said. "We are a very deep team. Some times, it's hard to get the right five competing. This weekend gives everyone an equally opportunity to play under tournament conditions. To me, you want every golfer with an equal chance to compete for the individual crown. This weekend, everyone on our roster has that chance."
The UGA golf course has a long association with women's college golf. In addition to the Liz Murphey, the course has hosted the national championships five times, doing so in 1971, 1981, 1983, 1993 and 2013.
"For me, playing on our home course is fun," Hung said. "We can see a lot of UGA supporters who will cheer for us and some even bark for us when we get birdies. That's always fun and exciting. The whole team has been working so hard. Recently, we've focused on our short game because we've traveled a lot and played on a lot of different types of grass. So we've spent a lot of time around the greens, working on chip and putt. Myself, in tournaments, I just try to play my own game and focus shot by shot."
"I think UGA is a really tricky golf course," Don said. "The greens are really hard. Some times you don't get the right read, and I've been playing on those greens for two years now. I feel like you have to respect the golf course. There are some holes where you can't push yourself. You just have to get a par and go. You have a lot of holes where you have a good chance to make birdie. It all depends on the wind and other conditions. You have to be a good player overall to score at this golf course."
While unlimited spectators will be welcome at the tournament, several guidelines listed below are in place to combat the spread of COVID-19.
• Spectators will be required to keep a safe distance of more than 6 feet from competitors and coaches at all times.
• Spectators will be required to wear masks within all golf course buildings and also around the course when social distancing can not be observed.
• Spectators will be required to wear masks at all times around the tee boxes at holes No. 1 and No. 10 and the greens on holes No. 9 and No. 18.
• The area around the aforementioned tees and greens will be roped off and all spectators will be required to remain on the paved cart paths or beyond in those areas.
• The number of patrons allowed into the clubhouse's snack bar and restroom facilities will be monitored.
"A year ago today I left Georgia for COVID so it's really exciting to be able to be here and play," Don said. "Playing at home is different. We know the golf course. We've played it enough. We're really excited to go out and show what we've got."
Pairings for Friday are as follows:
Hole No. 1
9:35-10:15 - Georgia, Southern Cal, South Carolina
10:25-11:05 - LSU, Tennessee, Florida
11:15-11:55 - Arkansas, Louisville, Vanderbilt
Hole No. 10
9:30-10:10 - Charleston, Auburn, Ole Miss
10:20-11:00 - Texas A&M, Alabama, Mississippi State
11:10-11:50 - Georgia, Missouri, Kentucky
Pairings for Saturday and Sunday will be determined the standings following the first and second rounds, respectively.
Live scoring will be available throughout the tournament at golfstat.com.
About the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic
The Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic is one of the oldest continuous sporting events in women's intercollegiate athletics. The tournament originally began in 1973 as the Georgia Invitational and was contested as the Women's Southern Intercollegiates from 1977-94. In 1995, the tourney was renamed in honor of Liz Murphey, UGA's Hall of Fame golf coach and long-time Senior Woman Administrator. The list of golfers who have competed in the event reads like a "Who's Who" of women's golf, including hall of famer's Beth Daniel, Betsy King and Julie Inkster and recent medalists include current LPGA standouts such as Jillian Hollis, Cheyenne Knight and Gaby Lopez.
About Liz Murphey
Liz Murphey was one of the leading figures in the development and evolution of women's intercollegiate athletics, both on the national level and at the University of Georgia. Murphey arrived in Athens in 1967, joining UGA's faculty as an assistant professor and women's golf coach. Her career progressed into her serving as UGA Athletics' first Senior Woman Administrator. As a coach, Murphey was the Women's Golf Coaches Association's first ever National Coach of the Year in 1984 and was a charter member of the organization's hall of fame in 1986. As an administrator, she hired many of UGA's most successful coaches ever, including and current head coaches Jack Bauerle (swimming & diving) and Jeff Wallace (tennis) and retired hall-of-famers Andy Landers (basketball), Beans Kelly (golf) and Suzanne Yoculan (gymnastics). That quartet of coaches has combined to lead Georgia teams to 19 NCAA Championships and 45 SEC Championships.
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