NINETY SIX, S.C. – Five-time defending champ Campbell has earned the top seed in this week's Big South Conference women's golf championship, which will be held at The Patriot Golf Course at Grand Harbor.  Campbell received the No.-1 seed based on its Golfstat national ranking of 38, the highest among the 11 Big South women's golf programs.
 
After Wednesday morning's practice round, the 54 hole-event begins in the afternoon with a 1:30 p.m. shotgun start. Campbell will be paired with USC Upstate and Charleston Southern in the opening round.
 
The 54-hole stroke play concludes on Friday with the top four teams advancing to match play Saturday to determine the Big South's automatic bid in the NCAA regional championships (May 9-11). Live scoring will be available at Golfstat.com.
 
Under the direction of head coach John Crooks, Campbell has finished either first or second in its conference championship 27 times in the past 29 times the event was held.  Since re-joining the Big South in 2011-12, the Camels have won the title seven times (2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021).  The 2020 Big South Championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
The Camels have five times during the 2021-22 season, including tournament titles at the Golfweek Fall Challenge, White Sands Bahamas Invitational, Sea Best Intercollegiate, Briar's Creek Invitational and Babs Steffens Invitational.
 
All five Camels rank among the Big South leaders in stroke average.  Emily Hawkins leads the league with a 71.44 mark, followed by Anna Nordfors (72.41).  Tomita Arejola is fifth (74.0), Sanna Lundmark sixth (74.22) and Patricia Garre Munoz eighth (74.93).
 
As a team, the Camels lead the nation in short game percentage (.542), rank second in average putts (31.39) and putts on greens in regulation (1.876), fourth in greens in regulation (.667), 11th in par-3 scoring (3.13), 12th in birdies (378), 13th in fairway percentage (.726), 16th in average score (73.42) and 17th in par-4 scoring (4.14).
 
Since returning to the Big South in 2011-12, Campbell has won six of its seven Big South Championships at the Patriot GC.  Campbell has advanced to the last nine NCAA regional championships.
 
Big South Championship
The Patriot GC at Grand Harbor / Ninety Six, S.C.
Par 72, 6297 Yards / Apr. 13-16, 2022
 
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
 
Format: 54 holes (18-18-18) stroke play. Shotgun start Wednesday (1:30 p.m.); double tee times Thursday (8:00 a.m.) and Friday (8:00 a.m.).  Match Play Saturday - Semifinals (8:00 a.m.), Final (1:45 p.m.).
 
The Field (Golfstat ranking): 1. Campbell (38), 2. USC Upstate (123), 3. Charleston Southern (151), 4. Gardner-Webb (174), 5. High Point (180), 6. Longwood (192), 7. UNC Asheville (197), 8. Winthrop (212), 9. Radford (225), 10. Presbyterian (241), 11. North Carolina A&T (N/A).
 
The Course – The Patriot Golf Club at Grand Harbor (Par 72, 6175 yards)
The Patriot at Grand Harbor is hosting the Big South Women's Championship for the 13th time and fifth year in a row.  The Davis Love III-designed par-72 course will play to 6,297 yards.  Love III took advantage of a beautiful, rolling site at Grand Harbor to create an eminently playable "members" course. With select views of surrounding Lake Greenwood, the course is characterized by intricately designed greens, strategic rough-edged bunkers and a memorable earthen star fort that serves as a stirring starting and finishing point for every round. Named in honor of the area's revolutionary war heritage, The Patriot is a classically-styled course built without moving much dirt or "forcing" holes where they didn't naturally belong. Love noted that the land dedicated to The Patriot was perfectly suited for course design. The rolling topography and mixture of pines and mature hardwoods make it ideally suited for golf. His design utilizes an intelligent routing plan that promotes walking and good hole-to-hole flow.
 
One of the most memorable features of The Patriot is a large-scale recreation of an earthen star fort like those commonly used for protection during Colonial times. The fort was designed and constructed at the center of the course, with holes No.-1 and No.-10 playing away from atop the outer walls and the 18th hole returning to a green situated in the center. The fort creates separation in a tight space for three holes and a practice area, but more significantly, it reminds us of the era that shaped our country.
 
The Coach: John Crooks is in his 32nd year in charge of the Campbell men's golf program and 31st as head coach of the CU women.  Crooks has been named league coach of the year 22 times in his tenure.  His teams have combined to earn 33 NCAA post-season trips, including five-straight on the men's side and nine in a row for the women.  His teams have won 156 tournaments and with 95 career tournament titles, Crooks trails only Dan Brooks of Duke (140) on the all-time coaching victories list among Division I women's coaches.  He has guided his teams to 25 league titles, including 17 on the women's side and eight in men's competition.
 
The Lineup:
Senior Emily Hawkins (Lexington, N.C.) leads the Big South Conference with eight top-10 finishes as well as in stroke average (71.44).  She ranks 34th nationally in the Golfstat Cup, No. 41 in the Golfstat rating and has played par, or better, golf 16 times through 27 rounds this season.  The 2019 Big South golfer of the year has 17 career top-10 finishes in 33 outings and has participated in the last three U.S. Women's Amateur Championship.  Hawkins has finished among the top 10 individuals in eight of her nine starts this year, including a runner-up showing (70-72-65—207) at the White Sands Bahamas Invitational and Briar's Creek Invitational (71-70-71—212) and a first-place finish at the Sea Best Intercollegiate (73-70-72—215).  Hawkins is ranked as the No. 7 U.S. player in the latest Arnold Palmer Cup standings.  She was the third player in Big South Conference history to be named Golfer of the Year and Freshman of the Year in 2019.  This season, she ranks 20th among national leaders in average score and par-3 scoring (3.02), T16th in birdies (90) and 36th in par-4 scoring (4.05).  Hawkins stands second in school career scoring average (73.03).
Career Big South Championship History
2019 Big South Championship (The Patriot GC) 77-65-76—218 (T3)
2021 Big South Championship (The Patriot GC) 71-76-73—220 (T6)
 
Senior Anna Nordfors (Gothenburg, Sweden) owns six top-10 finishes in Campbell's first nine tournaments, including a pair of wins.  She earned her second collegiate crown by shooting a collegiate-best 66 in the opening round and playing the final 36 holes even par for a 5-under 208 total at the Golfweek Fall Challenge.  Nordfors also won the Babs Steffens Invitational at LPGA International.  The 2021 Big South golfer of the year has compiled 13 career top-10 finishes in 30 events.  Rated No. 106 in the Golfstat Cup and No. 155 in the Golfstat ranking, Nordfors' 72.41 stroke average is second lowest in the Big South.  She is third in the nation in greens in regulation (.742), 12th in putts on greens in regulation (1.85) and T25th in birdies (87).  Nordfors has played par, or better, golf in 14 of 27 rounds this season.  Her 72.93 career stroke average is the lowest in school history.
Career Big South Championship History
2019 Big South Championship (The Patriot GC) 74-76-74—224 (10)
2021 Big South Championship (The Patriot GC) 68-71-74—213 (2)
 
Sophomore Sanna Lundmark (Skellefeå, Sweden) is making her Big South Championship debut. Last year, she traveled to the event as an alternate.  She finished T2nd at the Babs Steffens Invitational (72-73-76—221) and fifth at the Briar's Creek Invitational (71-74-69—214) before a team-best T11 showing at the ECU Ironwood Invitational (72-73-72—217).  Lundmark's 74.22 scoring average is sixth-best in the Big South.  She stands sixth in the nation in average putts (30.5), seventh in short game percentage (.593) and 20th in putts on greens in regulation (1.871). Lundmark owns four top-10 individual finishes in her 13-match collegiate career.
 
Senior Tomita Arejola (Quezon City, Philippines) has compiled a 74.0 stroke average – third-best on the team and fifth among Big South Conference players with six rounds of par, or better, golf this season.  She finished T5 at the Babs Steffens Invitational (73-75-74—222) and T10 at the White Sands Bahamas Invitational (72-76-69—217). Arejola fired a collegiate career low 68 at the ECU Ironwood Invitational.  She is 21st in the nation short game percentage (.538), 25th in greens in regulation (.676) and 30th in fairway percentage (.797).  She also qualified for the 2021 US Women's Amateur.  Arejola played her first two years at Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she was named Northeast Conference Golfer and Freshman of the Year in 2019.
Career Big South Championship History
2021 Big South Championship (The Patriot GC) 71-75-74—220 (T6)
 
Sophomore Patricia Garre Munoz (Murcia, Spain) has four career top-10 finishes in 16 outings and has posted a 74.93 scoring average (8th in the Big South) over 27 rounds this season.  She posted a season-best T10 finish (76-78-71—225) at the Babs Steffens Invitational, was T13 at the ECU Ironwood Invitational (71-73-74—218) and 15th at Briar's Creek (77-72-70—219).  She stands 25th in the latest Golfstat short game percentage stats (.532), is 22nd in average putts (31.13) and 25th in putts on greens in regulation (1.879).  Last year, Garre Munoz won both her matches 2&1 in the Big South Championship, including the deciding point in the final.
Career Big South Championship History
2021 Big South Championship (The Patriot GC) 71-72-78—221 (T8)
 
Graduate Emily Mollard (Les Contamines-Montjoie, France) will travel to the Big South Championship as an alternate/individual.  She competed in two events in 2021-22, including a career-best T10th place showing at the Babs Steffens Invitational (77-70-78—225), where she recorded her collegiate low round.  Mollard is a two-time French Speed Golf national champion.