Columbia News

The University of Missouri's men's and women's golf teams are set to compete in the Blessings Collegiate Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, starting Monday, September 30. This marks the second appearance for the Tigers at this event, which is being hosted by Arkansas for the sixth time.

The tournament will run over three days, with both teams playing 18 holes each day on the same course simultaneously. Six trophies will be awarded: men's team, women's team, men's individual, women's individual, combined team champion, and combined individual best-ball champion.

This year's field includes ten schools: Missouri, Arkansas (host), BYU, Kansas State, Kent State, Louisville, Maryland, Mississippi State, UNCG and Washington State. The Blessings Golf Club course is set at 7,737 yards for men and 6,501 yards for women. Tee times begin at 7:45 a.m., with Missouri's women starting at 9:30 a.m. and the men at 10:15 a.m.

At last year’s tournament in Arkansas, both Missouri teams finished ninth overall. Virgilio Paz led the men's team with a 20th-place finish while Ffion Tynan was top performer for the women’s team in 15th place.

This season has seen strong performances from several Tigers golfers. Junior Veikka Viskari opened with two consecutive top-15 finishes and recorded a career-best round of 66 during the Folds of Honor Collegiate. Freshman Ebba Liljeberg was named SEC Freshman of the Week after winning an individual title at the Sam Golden Invitational and tying an NCAA record with an 11-under second round there. The Tiger women have also won their first two tournaments of this season—a feat not achieved since 1997.

Missouri's men's lineup features Veikka Viskari, Virgilio Paz, Trent Mierl, Reese Roberts and Bradley Mulder; Esteban Cruz Bonilla will compete as an individual. The women's lineup includes Melanie Walker, Ebba Liljeberg, Addie Dobson, Fleur van Beek and Addie Surber; Alexandra Berglund will play as an individual.

Following this event, Missouri’s men’s team is scheduled to participate in the Moraine Intercollegiate hosted by Miami of Ohio beginning October 20. The women’s team will next compete in the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Showdown hosted by Kansas starting October 6.