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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Hovatter Has Whirlwind Month on Golf Course
8/19/2015 | Women's Golf
OXFORD, Miss. - For those that know rising women's golf senior, Alison Hovatter (Meridianville, Ala.), she's never too high and never too low. Even keeled is the perfect way to describe the Alabama native, and it's a trait that serves her well on the golf course as evident by her play this summer.
For the first time in her career, Hovatter qualified for the US Women's Amateur in, what some might call dramatic fashion, but for Hovatter it was just another day on the course. Playing a qualifier in Lawrence, Kansas at Lawrence Country Club in mid-July, Hovatter found herself needing birdies or better on the final two holes to qualify for the prestigious event. Well, she nailed birdies on No. 17 and No. 18 and closed the qualifier with a 4-over par, 74 and in third place and sealed her spot in the amateur.
After the event, Hovatter mentioned that she was extremely proud of herself for staying positive through the adversity she faced on the course during the qualifier.
"I really loved this golf course," said Hovatter. "I was really proud of how I stayed positive after I double bogeyed the first hole. I knew I had nothing to lose going into my last two holes. It felt great to make two birdies to make it into the U.S. Amateur."
After her double bogey on the first hole, Hovatter settled in and made par on the next two holes before recording the first of her three birdies of the round on hole No. 6. After closing the front nine with a 4-over par 39, Hovatter really caught her groove on the back nine particularly late in the round recording birdies on three of the final four holes, including the back-to-back birdies on Nos. 17 and 18, to clinch a spot in the U.S. Women's Amateur.
Fast forward about four weeks and Hovatter traveled to Portland, Oregon for the US Amateur held Aug. 10-16 at the Portland Golf Club. Playing two rounds of stroke play, Hovatter fired a 156 with a first round of 76 and second round of 80. Although not the best rounds of her career, Hovatter noted the experience was invaluable.
"I had an awesome time playing in Portland," said Hovatter. "I didn't play as well as I had wanted, but have learned so much about what I need to do to improve my game so I can compete against the best players going into my senior year at Ole Miss. I'm not far from where I want to be and know that my best golf has yet to have been played."
If you know Alison, you know that her faith is very important to her and is something she leans on daily, but most importantly while out on the golf course. During her time in Portland, she was able to meet Ben Crane, who plays on the PGA Tour and also is very strong in his faith.
"While I was playing, I was able to meet Ben Crane, PGA Tour player who lives in the area," said Hovatter. "He watched my group play the front nine and after my round gave me some bunker tips. He is also a strong Christian and we were able to share scripture and talk about how we rely so much on our faith on the course. It was a really great experience to share with him."
Hovatter will take all the lessons she learned both on and off the course this summer and put them into action this fall with her teammates. The Rebels kick off the 2015-16 fall slate Sept. 14-15 at the Memphis Fall Intercollegiate at Ridgeway Country Club in Memphis, Tennessee. Fans will also have a chance to see the Rebels this spring at the annual Rebel Intercollegiate at the Ole Miss Golf Course April 1-3.
For all Ole Miss women's golf news and information, go to OleMissSports.com, and follow the Rebels on Twitter at @OleMissWGolf and Facebook at Ole Miss Women's Golf.
Players Mentioned
