Eastern heads south to tee it up in Payne Stewart Memorial
In the upcoming week, Eastern will travel to the “Show Me State” to compete and honor one of the best golfers of all time.
The Panthers will compete in the two-day, 54-hole Payne Stewart Memorial starting Monday as Southwest Missouri State honors its late alum in its annual tournament.
Two-time U.S. Open champion Payne Stewart, who died nearly three years ago in a tragic plane crash, spent his college golf career in Springfield, Mo.
In the six-team event, Eastern should look to improve on its fourth-place finish last year.
However, the Panthers are still trying to find replacements for graduating seniors Amanda Minchin and Brooke Pellock.
The host, SMS, will look to keep the trophy at Hickory Hills Golf Club for the third straight year.
The Bears are led by one of the most promising underclassmen in the Midwest – Sally Hinton.
For the third time this season, SMS sophomore Sally Hinton has been named Missouri Valley Conference Golfer of the Week.
Hinton received the honor after tying for ninth at the Anteater Invitational in CotoDeCaza, Calif. Hinton, who won the league’s weekly honor twice in the fall, currently ranks second in the Valley with a 76.7 scoring average.
The England native finished third overall last year in this event and was beaten by a pair of Northern Iowa players who have graduated.
NIU brings some confidence after finishing second in the Hawkeye Invitational hosted by Iowa.
The Panthers consider an event with SMS a rivalry after Bears head coach Kevin Kane (a 1984 graduate of the University of Northern Iowa) enjoyed a successful eight-year stint at his alma mater prior to taking over at SMS.
Eastern needs to rebound from what has been the program’s most frustrating start to a spring season.
Only one Panther round has been under 80 and only three have been under 85.
And with only two weeks left before the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, Eastern needs something good to happen.
The first round of this event will begin Monday at 8 a.m. and a 36-hole second day will conclude the tournament Tuesday.
