ATHENS, Ga. — After a three-week break from competition, the Georgia women’s golf team is set for the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, which is slated to begin on Monday and continue through Wednesday.
The three-day tournament, hosted by South Carolina, will be held at Long Cove Club on Hilton Head Island, S.C. and contain 18 holes of competition each day. Each round is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. each day with tee times set for every 10 minutes off holes 1 and 10 until 11:50 a.m. Live television coverage will be provided on the Golf Channel from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. each day.
“The team is hitting their stride, and it’s been great watching them elevate the intensity and elevate the pressure at practice,” head coach Erika Brennan said. “We know this will be a big test of golf in a national championship-caliber field, and we are up to the challenge. There has been a bigger focus than ever before on short-game and a few equipment changes that have been really positive for the team. We are all looking forward to competing at a spectacular course and enjoying every moment of this premier event.”
The Bulldogs will vie for the team title with 16 other teams, including 12 which are currently ranked in the top 25 nationally. The ranked field includes No. 2 Arkansas, No. 5 South Carolina, No. 7 Texas, No. 8 Arizona State, No. 9 Wake Forest, No. 10 Northwestern, No. 12 Vanderbilt, No. 14 Mississippi State, No. 19 Duke, No. 20 Auburn, No. 22 LSU, No. 25 UCLA, while Alabama, Baylor, Georgia, Kentucky, and Ohio State will round out the competitors on Hilton Head Island.
Georgia logged its best team finish of the season in its most recent tournament, placing third at the San Diego State Classic on Feb. 10-11. The Bulldogs were paced by top-10 finishers Kate Song (9th) and Chantal El Chaib (10th), who posted scores of 2-under 214 and 1-under 215, respectively. Song and El Chaib each posted two rounds under par in the tournament, with El Chaib’s 6-under 66 in round two equaling the sixth-lowest scoring round in program history.
El Chaib will lead off the Bulldogs’ lineup in South Carolina followed by sophomore Morgan Smith in the second slot. Song will occupy the third spot in the lineup for the Bulldogs while sophomores Celine Brovold Sanne and Grace Frei will round out Georgia’s lineup at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate.
The Bulldogs, who are frequent attendees of the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, will compete on Hilton Head Island for the 12th-straight year. In the 2024 tournament, Georgia tied for sixth place at 12-over 864 in a field that featured six top-10 and 11 top-25 teams. Caterina Don led the way for the Bulldogs Individually, finishing tied for 16th at 1-over 214.