University of Georgia Athletics
Friday, March 29
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Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic - Day 1
Photo by: Rob Davis
Bulldogs Set To Host Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic
March 28, 2024 | Women's Golf
Georgia looks for strong show in final regular-season event
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ATHENS, Ga. — The No. 25-ranked Georgia women's golf team will welcome a national field to the University of Georgia Golf Course this weekend to host the 52nd annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic.
The tournament will feature 36 holes of play on Friday with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Saturday's final round also will begin at 8:30 a.m. but with traditional tee times. Admission for the event is free.
"We feel a lot of pressure hosting, truthfully," head coach Josh Brewer said. "You want to make the event feel special and in today's world, people add bells and whistles to do that. I just like to play golf and provide them with a great test. I think the NCAA giving Regional bids every three or four years and the number of national championships we've hosted speaks to the fact that our course is pretty special in its own right."
Fifteen schools will be competing against the Bulldogs this weekend – Alabama; No. 10 Auburn; Augusta; Charleston; Emory, which is ranked No. 4 in Division III; No. 15 Florida; Georgia Southern; Illinois; Kansas State; Michigan; Missouri; N.C. State; San Diego State; No. 24 SMU; and No. 23 Virginia.
All 10 Georgia golfers are in the field, comprising "Red" and "Black" teams this weekend.
Caterina Don will lead the "Red" squad, which also features Napat "Jenny" Lertsadwattana, LoraLie Cowart, Natachanok "Drive" Tunwannarux and Savannah De Bock. That group will begin Friday's first and second rounds on holes Nos. 10-12.
The "Black" quintet will tee off on holes Nos. 16-18 and include Bernice Olivarez Ilas, Celine Brovold Sanne, Isabella Holpfer, Kate Song and Grace Frei.
"Everyone gets a chance to play," Brewer said. "Truthfully, it has been seven years since we've won our home tournament. For the five that are classified as 'A', we want to win. We want to win here, but we also want to get our first win of the year as we head into postseason. The group that is classified as 'B', those teams in the past have beaten a lot of highly ranked teams and come close even beating our 'A' team. It's a massive challenge for them to step up and put up a final showing before we head into the postseason."
Don, who is currently ranked No. 23 in the nation individually, will be participating in the Liz Murphey for the fifth time. During her career in, she has learned about the tournament's namesake from former Georgia golfers.
"This event means a lot," Don said. "Coach Murphey was a great person. She was amazing for this school, and she did so much for women's golf and women's sports in general. A couple of years ago when we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX, we heard some of the players that played for her tell us about her legacy and what she meant to them. That the tournament is still here today and is still such a great tournament is part of that legacy. We're excited to host the tournament and play in it so I'm really excited."
Georgia has enjoyed a steady 2023-24 campaign but Brewer believes his team's best golf is ahead of it. Although Georgia is yet to notch a victory this season, the Bulldogs have three top-3 team finishes and 11 top-10 individual efforts.
"It's hard to win in our sport," Brewer said. "We don't get to schedule cupcakes so it's just difficult and you need a couple of things to fall right. If we have to wait three more weeks instead of this week to get our first win, I'll be just as happy but again, I'd like to win our home tournament for the first time in a while."
Georgia last won the Liz Murphey in 2017, when Jillian Hollis led the Bulldogs to their ninth sweep of the tournament's team and individual crowns.
Don believes mindset is key to Georgia's performance this weekend.
"I think it just takes a lot of confidence," Don said. "We just need to go out there and have fun as a team. We have what it takes. We've worked hard. We know the course. We just need to believe in ourselves and go out there and have fun. We can't predict how other teams are going to play, so we can't be like 'We're going to win.' But, we're going to do our best. To get a win at home in our last tournament of the regular season would be even more special."
The Liz Murphey will serve as the Bulldogs' final tuneup before postseason play. Georgia will compete in the SEC Championships on April 12-16 and an NCAA Regional on May 6-8. The Bulldogs will be looking to notch their fourth-straight top-20 finish at the NCAA Championships, including tying for fifth two seasons ago.
Live scoring will be available throughout the Liz Murphey at www.golfstat.com.
ATHENS, Ga. — The No. 25-ranked Georgia women's golf team will welcome a national field to the University of Georgia Golf Course this weekend to host the 52nd annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic.
The tournament will feature 36 holes of play on Friday with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Saturday's final round also will begin at 8:30 a.m. but with traditional tee times. Admission for the event is free.
"We feel a lot of pressure hosting, truthfully," head coach Josh Brewer said. "You want to make the event feel special and in today's world, people add bells and whistles to do that. I just like to play golf and provide them with a great test. I think the NCAA giving Regional bids every three or four years and the number of national championships we've hosted speaks to the fact that our course is pretty special in its own right."
Fifteen schools will be competing against the Bulldogs this weekend – Alabama; No. 10 Auburn; Augusta; Charleston; Emory, which is ranked No. 4 in Division III; No. 15 Florida; Georgia Southern; Illinois; Kansas State; Michigan; Missouri; N.C. State; San Diego State; No. 24 SMU; and No. 23 Virginia.
All 10 Georgia golfers are in the field, comprising "Red" and "Black" teams this weekend.
Caterina Don will lead the "Red" squad, which also features Napat "Jenny" Lertsadwattana, LoraLie Cowart, Natachanok "Drive" Tunwannarux and Savannah De Bock. That group will begin Friday's first and second rounds on holes Nos. 10-12.
The "Black" quintet will tee off on holes Nos. 16-18 and include Bernice Olivarez Ilas, Celine Brovold Sanne, Isabella Holpfer, Kate Song and Grace Frei.
"Everyone gets a chance to play," Brewer said. "Truthfully, it has been seven years since we've won our home tournament. For the five that are classified as 'A', we want to win. We want to win here, but we also want to get our first win of the year as we head into postseason. The group that is classified as 'B', those teams in the past have beaten a lot of highly ranked teams and come close even beating our 'A' team. It's a massive challenge for them to step up and put up a final showing before we head into the postseason."
Don, who is currently ranked No. 23 in the nation individually, will be participating in the Liz Murphey for the fifth time. During her career in, she has learned about the tournament's namesake from former Georgia golfers.
"This event means a lot," Don said. "Coach Murphey was a great person. She was amazing for this school, and she did so much for women's golf and women's sports in general. A couple of years ago when we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Title IX, we heard some of the players that played for her tell us about her legacy and what she meant to them. That the tournament is still here today and is still such a great tournament is part of that legacy. We're excited to host the tournament and play in it so I'm really excited."
Georgia has enjoyed a steady 2023-24 campaign but Brewer believes his team's best golf is ahead of it. Although Georgia is yet to notch a victory this season, the Bulldogs have three top-3 team finishes and 11 top-10 individual efforts.
"It's hard to win in our sport," Brewer said. "We don't get to schedule cupcakes so it's just difficult and you need a couple of things to fall right. If we have to wait three more weeks instead of this week to get our first win, I'll be just as happy but again, I'd like to win our home tournament for the first time in a while."
Georgia last won the Liz Murphey in 2017, when Jillian Hollis led the Bulldogs to their ninth sweep of the tournament's team and individual crowns.
Don believes mindset is key to Georgia's performance this weekend.
"I think it just takes a lot of confidence," Don said. "We just need to go out there and have fun as a team. We have what it takes. We've worked hard. We know the course. We just need to believe in ourselves and go out there and have fun. We can't predict how other teams are going to play, so we can't be like 'We're going to win.' But, we're going to do our best. To get a win at home in our last tournament of the regular season would be even more special."
The Liz Murphey will serve as the Bulldogs' final tuneup before postseason play. Georgia will compete in the SEC Championships on April 12-16 and an NCAA Regional on May 6-8. The Bulldogs will be looking to notch their fourth-straight top-20 finish at the NCAA Championships, including tying for fifth two seasons ago.
Live scoring will be available throughout the Liz Murphey at www.golfstat.com.
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