The Alabama women’s golf team heads to the Long Cove Club in Hilton Head Island, S.C., this weekend, where they will participate in the second annual Darius Rucker Intercollegiate Tournament.
The Crimson Tide comes into this year’s event as the No. 4 team in the country. The field of 15 also includes No. 5 North Carolina, No. 7 Arkansas, No. 13 Georgia and No. 15 Vanderbilt.
The Tide is coming off a disappointing outing in their last event, a seventh-place finish in the Sugar Bowl Intercollegiate Tournament on Feb. 24-26. The team faced problems from inclement weather in New Orleans, La., where wind, rain and hail forced a cancellation of the second round of play, which caused the team to struggle when play resumed.
“The thing that hurt us the most in New Orleans was high ball hitters. We did struggle into the wind, so mostly we’ve been working on hitting lower shots with less spin,” head coach Mic Potter said.
Fortunately for the Tide, the weather outlook for Hilton Head Island this weekend is good, with calm winds and little chance of rain, according to The Weather Channel.
“We’ve had a great couple weeks of practice and preparation, so I’m feeling pretty confident. The weather’s probably going to be the same as it’s been here for the last couple days, so I think we’re ready,” junior Stephanie Meadow said.
The team won this tournament last season while Meadow finished with the top individual score. Although weather forced a short second round and a canceled third, Potter said the team still came away with a good experience from the event.
“It’s always good to have good memories of a golf course, and your success at tournaments depends largely on how your players feel about the course, and how it fits their eye. Confidence comes from being successful,” Potter said.
Though Meadow may be the standout player this year, Potter said he is impressed with the entire team’s play this season and they all have a chance to win in this tournament.
“Whenever you’ve got All-Americans on your team, they’re always going to be competitive; Emma Talley’s won numerous high-level junior tournaments; Hannah Collier finished seventh there last year, so she’s got a good feeling about this golf course. It wouldn’t surprise me if any of our five girls won the tournament,” Potter said.
As for Meadow, who attended high school in Hilton Head Island, she said she wants to forget about the last event and focus on the mental aspects of her game.
“I think I need to work on being positive and having a good attitude, and committing to everything I do, and I think that goes for the team as a whole. If we can just focus on that, everything else will follow it,” Meadow said.
The tournament tees off Friday at 8:30 a.m.
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