As the fall season draws to a close, the No. 3 Crimson Tide women’s golf team hopes for a strong finish to its preseason. The team will return to North Carolina at the Landfall Tradition this weekend in Wilmington, N.C. The Crimson Tide last finished fifth at the Tar Heel Invitational with a score of 14-over.
“We kind of shot ourselves out of it the first day and played great the second without as much pressure on,” coach Mic Potter said. “A lot of that goes to preparing better, being more confident going into the tournament.”
After a 13th-place first round, the Crimson Tide fired back in the second round to move up to second place; however, they could not keep their momentum going into the third round, shooting 10-over to finish in fifth.
Potter said mental errors have prevented his team from reaching its full potential, with fourth-, eighth- and fifth-place finishes in their previous tournaments.
“We’ve shown what we can do when we’re relaxed and positive, and we kind of let it go,” Potter said. “But it seems like [in] the initial round, there’s still a little apprehension, and then when we get around the lead there’s a little apprehension.”
Emma Talley and Stephanie Meadow continued their strong fall seasons in Chapel Hill, with Talley finishing tied for eighth at 1-under and Meadow tying for 11th with an even-par performance. Redshirt freshman Cammie Gray played her best tournament yet, shooting 9-over to finish tied for 48th.
“I’m very excited about where [my game] is right now. Past three tournaments, it’s been a little so-so, just a couple mental errors,” Gray said. “But I’m still really excited to go to this next tournament.”
Potter said he has been very impressed with the way Gray has progressed as a player in her short career, including winning the Alabama State Amateur title this summer.
“It’s unbelievable to go from a relatively late starter in the game to a round of 16 participant in the U.S. Amateur,” Potter said. “Last year, she redshirted, but she probably wouldn’t have qualified for one tournament, so to have played in all our tournaments this year is a pretty big step.”
This weekend the Crimson Tide returns to the Landfall Tradition course for the first time since finishing third at the NCAA Championship there in the 2009-10 season. The Tide will face an 18-team field including No. 2 Duke, No. 7 Purdue and No. 8 Arizona as well as defending champion Oklahoma State.
