AMC Women's Golf Championship Preview

AMC Women's Golf Championship Preview
April 21, 2024

St. Louis, Mo. - [Tournament Page] The 2024 American Midwest Conference (AMC) women's golf championship will be held at Redfield Golf Club in Eugene, Mo., beginning Monday. The 36-hole championship will feature golfers from five AMC schools and will be played with tee times on Monday (starting at 9:00 a.m. in 10-minute intervals) and a shotgun start on Tuesday.

Participating teams include Central Baptist College, Columbia College, Cottey College, Missouri Baptist University, William Woods University and Williams Baptist University.

About the Teams

  • Central Baptist College has five top-3 finishes in the 10 events it has competed in this year, including winning the Williams Baptist Fall Invitational and three runner-up finishes (Scots Fall Invitational, Scots Spring Invitational, and Battle at Big Creek).

  • Columbia College enters as the two-time defending Champion, winning last year's event by 38 strokes over William Woods University (656-694). The Cougars has won all nine tournaments it has played, including a team-best +21 in the nine-team field at the William Woods Spring Invitational.

  • Cottey College posted team scores in four of the seven events it competed in with a top team finish of fourth at the Battle at Big Creek and team-best score of +72 at the William Woods Spring Invitational.

  • Missouri Baptist University finished third at the Conference Clash at the Rail and shot its best team score at the Central Baptist Invitational (+175).

  • William Woods University has finished in the top-10 of all 10 tournaments it has played with five runner-up finishes, including each of its last two events. The Owls team best score was +61 at the William Woods Spring Invitational.

  • Williams Baptist University has only registered a team score in one event, it's most recent outing at the Missouri Baptist Invitational where the Eagles finished 8th at +220.

About the Golfers

  • Columbia's top-five golfers are all in the top-8 of adjusted stroke averages in the Conference (Camryn Swinfard 1st - 82.5, Sydney Willingham 2nd - 82.7, Viviana Boix 6th - 85.7, Lilly Knipfel 7th - 85.9 and Ashlyn Sanders 8th - 87.7).

  • The remaining top-10 adjusted stroke averages belong to Central Baptist's Alyssa Hagewood (3rd, 83.6), Williams Baptist's Kendra Harness (3rd, 83.6), William Woods' Maria Rozo (5th, 84.5), Cottey's Sara Golden (9th, 89.0) and Central Baptist's Abby Kirby 10th (91.0).

  • Five golfers took home Medalist honors in at least one tournament this season - Swinfard, Willingham, Boix, Sanders, Rozo. Hagewood, Harness and William Woods' Alyssa Olson each have a top-2 finish on the season.

  • Swinfard, Willingham, and Rozo each have six top-5 finishes during the 2023-24 season, and Harness has five top-10 finishes in seven tournaments.

Top Returning Players

  • Seven of last year's top-10 finishers return this year as well as seven members of the All-Conference Team.

  • Willingham, a Second Team All-Conference pick, won a playoff over teammate Emily Strunck to take home Conference Medalist honors (161, +17) last year.

  • Other top-10 finishers returning are Central Baptist's Alyssa Hagewood (t-3rd, 162), Rozo (t-3rd, 162), Columbia's Lilly Knipfel (8th, 170), Cottey's Sara Golden (9th, 171), Swinfard (t-10th, 172) and Dally Coulter (t-10th, 172).

  • Hagewood and Williams Baptist's Kendra Harness were First Team All-Conference honorees last year. Willingham, Swinford, Knipfel, Rozo and Columbia's Ashlyn Sanders were Second Team selections. Sanders was the AMC Newcomer of the Year a year ago. Golden and William Woods' Alissa Olson received Honorable Mention.

  • Willingham is a three-time top-10 finisher (t-8th in 2022, t-10th in 2021). Two-time top-10 finishers in this year's field are Knipfel (5th in 2022) and Rozo (t-8th in 2022).

About the Championship

  • Championship returns to Redfield for the eighth time in the last nine Championships following a one-year hiatus.

  • The Course will play at par-72, 5,809 yards.

  • 36-holes (18 on Monday, 18 on Tuesday)

  • Tee times starting at 9:00 on Monday

  • Shotgun start at 9:00 on Tuesday