April 16, 2003
The Southeastern Conference Women’s Golf Championship returns to the Bluegrass for the first time in 12 years when the Kentucky Wildcats play host to the three-day tournament at the University Club of Kentucky this weekend, April 18-20. The 54-hole, 12-team tournament will be played on the University Club’s par-72, 6,153-yard “Big Blue” championship course.
“We are very excited to be playing host to the SEC Championship,” UK Coach Stephanie Martin said. “We look forward to the opportunity to show off our course during what promises to be an outstanding weekend of competition. Our golfers have had a week and a half to focus on this event, and I expect them to play well. I know that our seniors, Rachel (Lester) and Kelly (Anders), want to do well in their final conference championship.”
Six teams in the championship field are found in the Golf Week/Sagarin top 25 rankings — No. 7 Auburn, No. 8 Vanderbilt, No. 10 Tennessee, No. 11 Florida, No. 15 Georgia and No. 16 South Carolina. The tournament also will feature 11 of the nation’s top-50 individuals, including No. 10 Jessica Shepley (Tennessee), No. 12 Violeta Retamoza (Tennessee), No. 13 Celeste Troche (Auburn) and two-time defending SEC medalist No. 15 Kristy McPherson (South Carolina).
“I’m excited about this year’s SEC Championships but I don’t feel any extra pressure,” McPherson said. “I definitely have confidence coming into this year’s tournament. I’m going to come out and attack it like another golf tournament, play my game, post my score and hope that it’s low enough. I think that (as a team) we have great talent and we have been playing well lately. We believe that we are the team to beat and that we will go out and there and compete.”
In 2002, South Carolina took first place behind a seven-under par performance by McPherson. The Lady Gamecocks edged Auburn by three strokes, while McPherson won the medal with a 209, two strokes ahead of Vanderbilt’s Nicki Cutler. Deb Richards of UF (1982-’84) is the only SEC women’s golfer to take home three-straight individual medals. In 22 years of SEC Women’s Golf, the Georgia Lady Bulldogs have won 10 team championships. The Lady Gators are a close second, with seven titles under their belt.
Kentucky, Arkansas and Ole Miss will open the tournament on Friday, April 18, with the first tee time scheduled for 9 a.m ET. All 12 squads will field teams of five, counting the top four scores in each round. Mississippi State, Louisiana State and Alabama are scheduled to tee off at 9:50 a.m. ET, followed by Florida, Georgia and Vanderbilt at 10:40 a.m. ET. Tennessee, Auburn and defending champion South Carolina will hit the first tee box at 11:30 a.m ET.
Round two will begin on Saturday at 9 a.m. ET, with the teams re-seeded based on the previous day’s finish. All players will begin rounds one and two on the first tee. Sunday’s final round will start on No. 1 and No. 10, with the bottom six teams teeing off from the back nine. Action will begin at 9 a.m. ET on both holes. Round three will be immediately followed by the awards presentation, scheduled to begin at approximately 3 p.m. ET.
The University Club of Kentucky is a members-only club that began its current private licensing agreement with UK in the summer of 2002. Internationally renowned golf course architect Arthur Hills designed the renovations to “Big Blue,” transforming it into a championship course. The course is complemented by a dozen lakes and ponds, providing the player with a beautiful and challenging round of golf. The University Club already has played host to September’s Lady Kat Invitational (women) and last month’s Johnny Owens Invitational (men).
Admission and parking are free at the University Club, which is located six miles northwest of downtown at 4850 Leestown Road.
