ATLANTA, Ga. – On March 18, the 13th annual Jekyll Island Women's Collegiate Invitational tees off on the historic Indian Mound course on beautiful Jekyll Island, Georgia. Twenty-four teams from 15 states make up this year's 120-player field.
This year marks the first time that the field has contained 24 women's teams. "As Division III women's golf continues to grow, so has the Jekyll Island Women's Collegiate. So much so, in fact, that we are now completely full on the women's side," commented Oglethorpe Director of Golf Jim Owen. "We have 10 of the top 25 teams in the country in attendance and 17 of the top 55. That is a very strong and deep field that is set to hit the course at Indian Mound."
Twelve of the top 30 individuals in the country will be teeing it up, as well, and they'll be competing in the largest 54-hole event in all of NCAA Division III women's golf. This year, the depth of individual talent will include 40 of the top 100 Division III women in the latest Golfstat Player Ratings.
The Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels finished 10th at the event last year, their best-ever finish at Jekyll. They will look to improve on that this year with their young, freshman laden team led by Katie Hanley, Vickie Kwak, Hailey Willman and Lisa van der Ross. Junior Elizabeth Burns and sophomore Sophia German will provide veteran leadership, as well. Burns finished tied for 43rd at the event last year with a 3-day total of 251, the lowest score among any of the returners from the 2015 squad.
Defending individual champion Sydney Weaver from Berry, now a junior, fired a 3-round 228 to win the individual medal by a couple strokes over Michelle Burke from Illinois Wesleyan in 2015. Both Christina Herbert of Bridewater (Virginia) and Lee Ann Cahoon of Huntingdon tied for third at 231 last year and both will return and be contenders again this March. Six of the top 10 individuals from last year return. Emily Javadi from Oglethorpe's SAA rival Sewanee, the No. 2 ranked player in the nation, returns after missing last year's event.
Thanks to a great assist from the Jekyll Island Authority, head golf professional Rob Ellis is proud to announce that the Indian Mound course fairways are overseeded again this year. "The fairways might be thicker and greener than the Pine Lakes course due to the timing of when we overseeded last fall," he said. "The women are going to be in for a treat."
Jim Owen and Oglethorpe golf are pleased to be partnering with the Jekyll Island Authority again to bring about live hole-by-hole scoring and a large leaderboard at the course entrance. Several years ago, Jekyll Island and Oglethorpe University brought live, player-entry scoring to the forefront of Division III golf. Combining the giant scoreboard, which scrolls team scored and individual leaders, with the immediacy of the player-entry system after every hole, the event is addictive to watch.
"So many former players, parents, coaches, friends and fans of Division III golf say they can't put their phones, tablets or laptops down once an event gets rolling," Owen continued. "It has revolutionized the way we follow college golf now. Golfstat has brought us so far since 20 years ago when scores were posted after the final round...sometimes days after the final round. Ten years ago, we started moving to daily scoring, followed by more of a live scoring model where scores were updated every nine holes for a while, then every three holes more recently. Now, with the advent of the player-entry scoring allowing for updates just seconds after a hole is played, it has brought us into a new arena. It has given Division III a unique niche within Golfstat. I think it raises the small college profile to be on the home page of Golfstat beside the big schools for 10 or 11 tournaments a year. It is a tremendous enhancement for recruiting and, of course, it is fantastic for the players' families and friends."
Live scoring will begin just after 8 a.m. on March 18 and will run through the end of the tournament on March 20. Live scoring can be accessed on golfstat.com.