OWENSBORO, Ky. – The McKendree University women's golf team concluded its 2022 fall schedule here Sunday by recording a fourth place finish out of nine teams at the Kentucky Wesleyan College Fall Invitational held at The Pearl Club.
 
McKendree finished the two-day, 36-hole event with a team score of 653 to finish one shot in front of fifth place Quincy (654) and six shots behind third place Davenport (647). The Bearcats opened the event with an opening round score of 326, before carding a 327 in Sunday's final round.
 
Drury captured the tournament's title as the Lady Panthers shot a two-day, 36-hole total of 635 to win by six shots over runner-up Trevecca Nazarene, who shot a 641 for 36 holes. Drury recorded rounds of 319 and 316, while Trevecca Nazarene had rounds of 322 and 319.
 
Leading the way for the Bearcats at the event was sophomore Imogen Rafferty (Derbyshire, England/Trent College), who followed up her first-round score of 77 with a 78 in the final round to finish in a tie for third place with a 155 for 36 holes. Rafferty led the 47-player field in pars with 27 and was tied for third in par-4 scoring for the event as she played the par-4 holes at 7-over par and averaged 4.35 on those holes.
 
Jodie Taylor of Trevecca Nazarene took home medalist honors after shooting a 151 for 36 holes to win by one shot over Davenport's Lauren Gervais, who shot a 152 for 36 holes. Taylor opened with a 75 and then shot a 76 in the final round, while Gervais shot a 78 in the first round and fired a 74 in the final round.
 
In addition to Rafferty, graduate student Rachael Kell (Nashville, Ill./Maryville) posted a tie for 12th place finish after carding a 162 for 36 holes. Kell opened with 78 in the first round, before firing an 84 in the final round. Kell was tied for third in the event in birdies with five.
 
The third counter for the Bearcats was junior Martina Hicks (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho), who finished tied for 15th place after shooting a 163 for 36 holes. Hicks followed up her opening round score of 86 with a final round 77. Her 77 was the lowest final round score by a Bearcat golfer. Hicks recorded 18 pars, three birdies and was tied for second in par-3 scoring as she played the course's par-3 holes at 1-over par as she averaged 3.13.
 
Freshman Sarah Capel (Marion, Ill./Marion) was the No. 4 finisher as she recorded a tie for 28th place after shooting a 173 for 36 holes. Capel opened the event with an 85, before firing a final round 88.
 
The fifth and final golfer for the Bearcats was graduate student Paige Hamel (Glen Carbon, Ill./Rend Lake CC), who shot a 36-hole total of 177 to finish in a 36th place. Hamel opened with an opening round 88, before firing a 89 in the Sunday's final round.
 
McKendree also sent an individual golfer to the event as sophomore Dylan Kirchoff (O'Fallon, Ill./O'Fallon Township) finished in a tie for 22nd place with a 168 for 36 holes. Kirchoff opened with an 82 and then shot an 86 in the final round.
 
The Bearcats will next be in action when they begin their 2021-22 spring season in early March of 2023.

During the fall season, the Bearcats finished in the top five in three of their five tournaments, including a second place showing at both the Dan Salisbury Memorial Invitational and the Bearcat Dual Gender Tournament. As a team, the Bearcats recorded a scoring average of 324.6 as a team as they tallied 3,895 strokes in 12 rounds of golf.