Mizzou women’s golf put together a runaway finish Tuesday at The Club at Old Hawthorne, rolling to the Johnie Imes Invitational team title by 32 strokes after a final-round 13-under-par 275.
That closing number helped the Tigers finish the 54-hole event at 22-under par 842, well ahead of runner-up Missouri State at +10 and third-place West Georgia at +32. It also completed a rare double for Mizzou: the Tigers won both the team and individual championships at the Johnie Imes Invitational for the first time since 2018, and the team crown was the program’s 11th at the event since 2007.
At the center of it all was senior Addie Dobson, who turned in a historic week and walked away with her first individual title. Dobson posted a 15-under 201, tying the tournament record for the lowest individual score.
She took a six-shot lead into the final round after Monday’s 10-under effort and kept the pressure on with a 5-under 67 on Tuesday. In her first tournament of the season, she also set the lowest 54-hole score of her career.
Her 201 matches the mark set by Mizzou’s Jess Meek in 2015.
Mizzou didn’t just win with one star. The Tigers packed the top of the leaderboard.
Senior Melanie Walker completed the 1-2 finish for Mizzou with a 1-under 71 in the final round, landing in second at 5-under 211. It was the seventh time Walker has finished in the top five of an event.
Junior Alexandra Berglund made the biggest move of the final round, climbing four spots into third after carding a 4-under 68, which matched the best round of her career. Her 213 total was the best tournament score of her career and her first top-five finish.
Senior Fleur van Beek also surged on Tuesday, rising six places into a tie for fifth with a 3-under 69. She made five birdies in the final round and earned the fourth top-five finish of her career.
Competing as an individual, sophomore Addie Surber shot a 2-over 74 and finished seventh, giving her a second-career top-five finish.
Freshman Page Bowman closed with a 1-over 73 and moved up three spots to tie for 22nd at 13-over. Freshman Nina Andersen, also competing as an individual, posted a 1-over 73 in her final round and jumped 10 spots to tie for 27th.
Mizzou’s next stop is the OU Intercollegiate at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Wichita, Kan., on Oct. 5-6.
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