November 5, 2020

Looking for Momentum at the Murphey

Commodores close out fall season with trip to Georgia tournament

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Vanderbilt women’s golf team will conclude its fall season this weekend when it takes part in the 48th annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic.

Hosted by the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, and named for former Georgia women’s golf coach Liz Murphey, the three-day event is scheduled to begin Friday and run through Sunday. Vandy will join 10 other SEC programs for 54 holes of competition on the University of Georgia Golf Course.

“Just like the first two tournaments this fall, we are just grateful to play,” Vanderbilt head coach Greg Allen said. “I talked to a fellow coach this week from the Big 10 and she said don’t ever take for granted the opportunity to compete.

“I’m excited about being in Athens and playing the UGA course because this is where (Vanderbilt associate head coach Emilie) Meason dominated for four years. She has meant so much to our program since joining us four years ago and it will be cool to see her coach her way around the course.”

The Commodores are coming off a ninth-place finish at The Ally at Old Waverly (Oct. 19-21) in West Point, Mississippi. Senior Morgan Baxendale led the way for Vanderbilt in that tourney by finishing in a tie for 16th overall.

Baxendale will be joined by Jayna Choi, Louise Yu, Celina Sattelkau and Virginie Ding in the Vanderbilt lineup this weekend.

“I’m proud of the girls and their efforts the last 10 weeks. I recognize how how tough it has been on everybody learning to live with COVID-19 protocols,” Allen said. “Our kids have made the adjustments and handled it well.

“As for golf, I’ve seen some really good things from our young team. With Auston (Kim) not in our lineup this fall, our younger players are having the chance to play and learn. That will be big come spring. With the exception of some tough holes, we’ve played some decent golf. Let’s hope we can eliminate big numbers this week.”

Vandy, which also finished tied for ninth The Blessings Collegiate Invitational in early October, will try to conquer a par 72 course with 6,302 yardage. The Dores have an opening-round tee time of 7:34 a.m. CT Friday on hole No. 10 and will be paired with Tennessee and Texas A&M.

Live scoring can be followed HERE and updates will be posted to Twitter and Instagram as well.