WICHITA, Kan. – The Shocker women's golf team starts the 2023-24 season once again in Springfield, Missouri, where they will compete in the Payne Stewart Memorial Golf Tournament, hosted at Rivercut Golf Course. The Memorial is a two-day event, running from September 11
th to September 12
th.
Head Coach
Tom McCurdy is eager to get the new season underway and saw some impressive numbers in the team's qualifiers in recent days.
"We had a lot of bright spots in our qualifying rounds." McCurdy said. "We played at three different courses this past week that I think will give us a good idea of what we're playing on this week at Rivercut."
The Payne Stewart Memorial Golf Tournament is played at Rivercut Golf Course, which a 72-par course and spans 6,282 yards.
"The course has a really good balance of longer and shorter holes," McCurdy said. "It's got some really challenging short holes that require club discipline and features some longer holes that will require really good tee shots."
The Shocker lineup in next week's tournament sees all three new Shockers,
Kate Tilma,
Anna Takahashi, and
Hillary Currier, making their Shocker debuts in their first tournament of the season. Redshirt freshman
Lauren Thiele will also be making her first tournament appearance wearing black and yellow. The only returning golfer from last year in the Shocker lineup is
Mackenzie Wilson, the sophomore standout from Hobart, Australia.
"I think we have a great talent base in our top-5 this week and I think our golf game is set up very well for this golf course," McCurdy said.
All eight 2023-24 Shockers will be playing in this tournament as returners
Brooklyn Benn,
Sarah Lawson, and
Madison Slayton will all make the trip and compete as individuals.
"It's really nice that we're able to play in this tournament that's close to home and we're able to take everybody," McCurdy said. "Especially in the first tournament of the year, it's nice to get everybody into the tournament mode and get some fire into their system early in the new season."
Fast Facts – Payne Stewart Memorial
Dates: Monday-Wednesday, Sep. 11-12, 2023
Host: Missouri State University
Location: Springfield, Mo. (Rivercut Golf Course)
Yardage: 6
,282 Yards
Par: 72
Format: 54 Holes (36 holes first day, 18 holes second day)
Live Scoring: TBD
The Field: 16 teams
Creighton, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Loyola, California Baptist, Houston Christian, Texas A&M – Corpus Christi (TAMCC), University of Texas – El Paso (UTEP), Wyoming, Austin Peay, Oral Roberts,
Wichita State, Drury, Southern Illinois, Lindenwood, Western IIlinois.
Shocker Five:
Lauren Thiele (R-Fr.) – Second year Shocker playing in first collegiate tournament after redshirt year…Finished as top Shocker qualifier for tournament.
Mackenzie Wilson (So.) – Playing in 11
th tournament as a Shocker…Carded a fourth-place finish at last year's Payne Stewart Memorial with a total score of 217 (+1).
Kate Tilma (So.) – Transfer from Kansas State…Wichita native…Playing in first Shocker tournament…Appeared in three events as a K-State Wildcat.
Anna Takahashi (Gr.) – Graduate transfer from Sam Houston State…Competed in 21 events as a Bearkat…Recorded six top-20 finishes in career.
Hillary Currier (Fr.) – True freshman…Qualified for first collegiate tournament in her first round of qualifiers.
Next Up
The Shockers will travel to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho where they will play in the Coeur d'Alene Resort Intercollegiate from September 24th-26th.
