The Penn State women’s golf team will participate in the 54th-annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic from March 28 to March 30, hosted by the University of Georgia at the University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens.
This marks the first time Penn State is competing in this tournament. The event features a field of 16 teams playing on a par-72, 6,217-yard course. Over three days, players will complete one round of 18 holes each day. Split tee times are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday starting at 8:30 a.m., with Monday’s final round beginning with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start followed by an awards ceremony.
The Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic is noted as one of the oldest events in women’s college athletics, having begun in 1973. Alongside Penn State, other Big Ten schools Indiana and Rutgers are also participating. The field includes Florida Gulf Coast, High Point, Jacksonville State, James Madison, Kennesaw State, Old Dominion, Queens University of Charlotte, Alabama, South Alabama, Toledo, Western Carolina, Western Kentucky and host Georgia Bulldogs. South Carolina has sent individual competitors only for this weekend’s event.
Penn State will be paired with High Point and Florida Gulf Coast for Saturday’s opening round with tee times between 8:32 a.m. and 9:08 a.m., starting from hole number ten.
The Nittany Lions’ lineup remains unchanged from their last outing. Freshman Audrey Lam leads the team alongside fellow freshmen Mara King and Lillian Guleserian; sophomores Hannah Rabb and Yaya Jiratthitinun complete the main group. Sophomore Lauren Thompstone returns as an individual competitor after playing three out of four fall events but making her first spring appearance this season. Lam currently holds a stroke average of 72.10 with two top-10 finishes so far this year; Rabb follows closely at a stroke average of 72.70 while Thompstone (73.33), Jiratthitinun (73.35), and King (73.36) have similar averages.
Looking ahead, Penn State is set to compete next week at the Terrapin Invitational in Maryland on April 5-6 before concluding their regular season at the Big Ten Championships scheduled for April 24-26.
