The Belmont women’s golf team concluded its season with a fourth place finish at the 2017 Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Golf Championship in Owens Cross Roads, Alabama on April 19.
After day one, the women’s team finished sixth overall with a score of 312 and 24 over par. Senior Megan Heath was tied for 16th to lead the Bruins in round one.
Belmont moved up to fifth overall after the second day of the tournament, with a score of 305 and 17 over par.
At the final day of the tournament, Belmont tied with Austin Peay for fourth place with a total score of 303 for the day and 920 overall.
The conclusion of this tournament marks the end of the season for the Belmont women’s golf team. Its performance this week was one for the record books.
“We just took it one day and one shot at a time, and if we prepared our very best, everything would fall into place,” said head coach Lissa Bradford.
By finishing in fourth place, the Bruins tied for the best finish in an OVC tournament by a Belmont team. Furthermore, they were only two strokes off of the school record for the lowest score in a conference championship.
Comfort was key to the success for the team this week, as almost every player had played on the course before, Bradford said.
Leading the Bruins in sixth place was senior Abbie Gregory, with a score of 220 overall, the second lowest score in Belmont program history.
But that was not the only record Gregory set.
Gregory also became the first female Belmont golfer to rank in the top 20 in every event she competed in this season.
Gregory credited this consistency to a strong mental game she had during the tournament.
“Coach asked us every day what went well, and I think that my mental game was really good,” Gregory said. “I never let one hole define my game,”
Gregory’s mental game was tested in her final shot of the tournament, which also happened to be the final shot of her career.
“She was really good at staying focused and keeping the fact that she was a senior on her last putt out of her mind,” Bradford said.
After graduating, Gregory will miss the team and coach most, she said.
“They are one-of-a-kind and have helped push and mold me into the person I am today. I couldn’t have dreamed of having a better team,” she said.
Finishing behind Gregory was junior Mallory Sullivan, who finished 16th with a score of 228.
Her 16th place finish marks a total of five times this season that Sullivan has finished in the top 20.
Senior Megan Heath also tied for 22nd with a score of 234.
The Bruins will be graduating three seniors this year, including Gregory, Heath and Alexi Bevins.
This article was written by Paris Lawson. Photo courtesy of Belmont Athletics.