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Comet golf team opens season in Springfield
Kicking off their golf season at Tuesday's Evangel University Fall Invitational, the Cottey Comets placed fourth at the five-team event.
Held at Bill and Payne Stewart Golf Course, the event was originally slated as two-day, 36-hole competition. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, it was trimmed to a one-day, 18-hole event.
Cottey was paced by the play of Rachel Hancock, as the standout senior fired a 10-over-par 80, en route to a fifth-place individual finish. Cottey junior Ashlee Collins placed 19th, wrapping play with a 21-over-par 91. Comet sophomores Grace Palmer and Rachel Carver rounded out Cottey's scorecard, tying for 24th, with a 24-over-par 94.
"Playing as a team in the same group, (they)got off to a good start over the first nine holes," said Cottey golf coach, Eric Cameron, who was particularly impressed with Hancock's 20-foot birdie make on hole No. 6 of the front-nine.
"The back nine was a different story, as it didn’t go quite as well as the front," Cameron noted. "The back-nine played a little longer, and had a few tricky holes. Overall, they played well for their first time out."
Cameron said his squad's ability be more strategic, while navigating the links, will help cut down on their strokes going forward.
"At this level, golf is not just 'grip-it and rip-it,'" Cameron explained. "When they learn to take all the variables into consideration, when deciding what shot to hit, and how — those scores will start dropping more. It takes a lot of focus and concentration."
Led by Hannah Hart's 4-over-par 74 first-place finish, Kansas Wesleyan University took the top four individual spots.
Team results
• Kansas Wesleyan, 25-over-par 305; Evangel University, 59-over-par 359; William Baptist University, 63-over-par 343; Cottey College, 79-over-par 359; Culver-Stockton College, 86-over-par 366.
Up Next
The Columbia Cougar Classic, Oct. 5 at Columbia Country Club.