No. 9 Women’s Golf to Face Nation’s Best at Stephens Cup
The University of Arkansas women’s golf team has a quick turnaround, as the squad is in the Sunshine State for the Jackson T. Stephens Cup this week. This year’s Stephens Cup will take place at Seminole Golf Club in Juno Beach, Florida. As one of the strongest competitions in all college golf, each of the seven women’s teams, including Arkansas, are ranked in the top 20 Golfweek rankings and played at the 2022 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships. Arkansas and Stanford are the only two schools to play in the men’s and women’s field of this elite tournament.
The tournament will kick off on Monday, Oct. 10 with rounds one and two of stroke play. Following Tuesday’s third round of stroke play, the top six teams will advance to match play on Wednesday, Oct. 12. For match play, the top two seeds will face off, while seeds three and four go head-to-head and seeds five and six play one another.
Arkansas will get going from hole 10, starting at 8:35 a.m. CT with Kajal Mistry and Reagan Zibilski. Giovanna Fernandez and Julia Gregg will tee off at 8:45 a.m. and Miriam Ayora will go at 8:55 a.m. Stroke and match play will all be broadcast on the Golf Channel with live coverage taking place on Monday from 3-6 p.m., as well as Tuesday and Wednesday from 2-5 p.m. (CT).
Arkansas is making its second consecutive appearance in the tournament, which took place at the Alotian Club in Roland, Arkansas last season. Following 54 holes of stroke play, the Razorbacks finished in a tie for third with a seven-over 891 (305-291-295). The Razorbacks would go on to fall to Ole Miss in match play, L, 2-1-2.
Ayora, who is No. 38 in the Golfweek rankings, leads the way at the No. 1 spot this week. The junior has posted the lowest scores in the first two tournaments, most recently coming off a seventh place showing at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational where the Razorbacks finished in third (299-302-288=889). This marks Ayora’s second year playing the Stephens Cup, having played in the event last year and finishing in 18th (81-71-75=227).
Gregg will play at the No. 2 spot after coming off a ninth-place finish at the Blessings Collegiate Invitational with a 222 (75-74-73). Gregg is also playing in her second Stephens Cup, carding a 226 (78-74-74) for 14th last time.
Fernandez and Zibilski will make their Stephens Cup debuts at No. 3 and No. 4, respectively. At the BCI, Fernandez finished in 17th place (77-77-72=226), while Zibilski followed in 18th (79-77-71=227).
Mistry rounds out the lineup for the Razorbacks, logging 31st at the BCI with a 230 (75-83-72) last week. Mistry finished in 11th at the Stephens Cup last year (75-74-75-224) and won her match in Wednesday’s match play.
ARKANSAS LINEUP
1. Miriam Ayora
2. Julia Gregg
3. Giovanna Fernandez
4. Reagan Zibilski
5. Kajal Mistry
COMPETING TEAMS (GOLFWEEK RANKINGS)
1. Arkansas (9)
2. Duke (12)
3. LSU (19)
4. Stanford (1)
5. South Carolina (5)
6. Southern Cal (13)
7. Wake Forest (2)
Individuals: Marley Franklin (Howard), Kendall Jackson (Howard), Jayla Rogers (North Carolina A&T) and Eve Worden (Navy)
TEE TIMES (CT)
8:35 a.m. – hole 10 – group 6 – Kajal Mistry and Reagan Zibilski
8:45 a.m. – hole 10 – group 7 – Giovanna Fernandez and Julia Gregg
8:55 a.m. – hole 10 – group 8 – Miriam Ayora
COURSE
Seminole Golf Club – Juno Beach, Fla. – Par 72 – 6,200 yards
LIVE SCORING
TOURNAMENT NOTES
The Jackson T. Stephens Cup is in its second year and features NCAA Division I National Championship-contending men’s and women’s teams. The tournament is 54 holes of stroke play, which sets the field for match play of 18 holes. The Stephens Cup will award a 54-hole winner after stroke play.
UP NEXT
The women’s team will wrap up fall play at the Battle at the Beach in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico from Oct. 28-30.
MORE INFORMATION
Keep up with all of the latest news and information and get behind the scenes looks into our program on our social media accounts. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @RazorbackWGolf and check out our Facebook page “Razorback Women’s Golf.” Stats, news and player information can be found at ArkansasRazorbacks.com.