2017 Johnie Imes Invitational
Monday, Oct. 2 – Wednesday, Oct, 4
The Club at Old Hawthorne | Columbia, Mo.
Live Scoring: BirdieFire.com
Opening Tee
Little Rock rounds out its challenging opening season stretch in Missouri, competing in the 2017 Johnie Imes Invitational in Columbia Monday, October 2 through Wednesday, October 4.
Tournament Information
The 2017 Johnie Imes Invitational will be a 54-hole event played October 2-4 at the Club at Old Hawthorne, a par-72 course measuring 6,204 yards. The teams will play 18 holes per day, beginning with 9 a.m. tee times on both Monday, October 2 and Tuesday, October 3, followed by an 8 a.m. shotgun start on Wednesday, October 4. Live scoring of the event will be available at BirdieFire.com.
Tournament Field
Little Rock will be among the 14-team field vying for the tournament title, which will be comprised by one of the more challenging fields to date. Six of the 14 teams finished 2016-17 ranked among the GolfStat top-100, including host Missouri (No. 55), East Tennessee State (No. 72), Florida International (No. 75), Kennesaw State (No. 78), Middle Tennessee (No. 94) and Mercer (No. 95). Four others were among the top-150, comprised of Florida Gulf Coast (No. 124), North Texas (No. 136), Wichita State (No. 138) and UMKC (No. 141) with Bradley, Missouri State and Illinois State rounding out the field.
Trojan Lineup
Little Rock will go with the same five players from last week's event, led by senior
Sabrina Bonanno seeking her fourth-straight top-20 finish. Junior
Emelie Blennow will remain in the number two spot with senior
Pernille Orlien moving up in to the number three position for the Trojans.
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Little Rock at the Johnie Imes Invitational
The trip to Columbia, Missouri, has become a yearly staple for the Trojans as Little Rock has competed in the event eight times in the tournaments' nine year history. The Trojans have boasted six top-10 finishes, highlighted by tying for second in 2008, the tournament's first season, while finishing fifth in both 2011 and 2014.
Last Time Out
Little Rock made the trip east for the 2017 Pirate Collegiate Classic, finishing 14th among the 17-team field in Greenville, North Carolina. The Trojans posted a 69-over 933, including an 18-over 306 in round three, and led by
Sabrina Bonanno's 7-over 223 to finish tied for 15th among the 89-player field.
Bonanno's Strong Start
Senior
Sabrina Bonanno has emerged as the leader of the Trojans early in 2017-18, registering top-20 finishes in each of the first three events of the year. Bonanno started the year tying for 10th at the Hobble Creek Classic in Utah, then tied for fifth at the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational the following week in Kansas. She tied for 15th last week at the Pirate Collegiate Classic, giving Bonanno 16 top-20 showings during her Little Rock career.
Racking Up The Miles
The first four weeks of the 2017-18 season have been anything but slow for Little Rock as the Trojans are getting set to compete in their fourth tournament in as many weeks. Little Rock's early season surge has seen the Trojans compete in four different states in three different time zones, playing in events in Utah, Kansas, North Carolina and now Missouri. The Trojans will have traveled nearly 7,000 miles over the span of four weeks, one of the most grueling stretches in program history.
Looking Ahead
After competing for four-straight weeks in four different states, Little Rock will earn some well-deserved down time as the Trojans will have three weeks off before resuming competition. When they do, it will be a short trip to Hot Springs Village, serving as the host of the 2017 Little Rock Women's Golf Classic October 29-31, wrapping up the fall portion of its 2017-18 schedule.
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