After a runner-up finish at the Carmel Cup at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California, the No. 11 A&M women’s golf team will host the “Mo” Morial Invitational for the first time since 2014 beginning Tuesday, Sept. 20.
At Monday’s press conference, head coach Gerrod Chadwell said he hoped there would be lots of spectators to support the team at the only home event of the fall season. The tournament is scheduled for Sept. 20-21 at the par-72, 6,406-yard Traditions Club in Bryan.
This team knows the Traditions course well, and is ready to play, Chadwell said, adding he didn’t want to “over complicate” their preparation for the tournament.
“We had some Aggies out at Pebble Beach, and it was pretty loud, so I’m excited to have more Aggies and make it be really loud,” Chadwell said. “They’re ready to go.”
The maroon and white shot 1-over-par 1081, earning second place in Pebble Beach, Calif., earlier this month, according to 12thMan.com. The Traditions course is a Nicklaus Designs championship course which features stately hardwoods, and natural creeks and wetlands.
“Traditions is tough just because it’s visually intimidating,” Aggie transfer and graduate student Hailee Cooper said. “If you drive the ball well, if you put it in the fairway and hit the green, you’ll have a good round.”
Cooper noted that the depth within the Aggie team makes everyone more competitive.
“It makes practice a lot more fun,” Cooper said. “It makes drills more competitive. Like Zoe [Slaughter] the other day shot 66 in qualifying, and I shot 69. Just knowing that these girls are as good as you or better than you — so it makes you want to get better every day.”
The “Mo” Morial Invitational honors the memory of Monica Welsh, a Texas A&M golf great from 1978-1982 who was a four-year letter winner, according to 12thMan.com. Welsh died in a 1992 automobile accident.
Chadwell noted there has been great reception to bringing the “Mo” Morial back to the team’s fall schedule.
“The field is great this year,” Chadwell said. “I can’t tell you how many coaches have said, ‘Thank you for bringing it back.’’’
The tournament will also reunite Cooper with her former team.
“I’m excited,” Cooper said. “We’re playing with my old school, [Texas], so I’m excited to see that.”
Cooper noted that her transition to A&M has been a good one.
“I love it,” Cooper said. “I grew up knowing some of the traditions, but I never understood it. I was worried I wouldn’t really be accepted; I came from UT. I’ve been so accepted here. It’s been such an honor to be an Aggie. I will be an Aggie forever.”
The 54-hole tournament has 36 holes scheduled for the first day of competition. Play will begin at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start, according to 12thMan.com. Admission is free. The tournament will conclude on Wednesday with the final 18 holes. Live stats can be followed at golfstats.com.
Irene Robles-Ramirez is an English senior and contributed this piece from the course Journalism 359: Reporting Sports to The Battalion.