The South Dakota women's golf team opens its fall schedule at the MSU/Payne Stewart Memorial tournament on Monday. The event is hosted by Missouri State and consists of three rounds in two days. The tournament is being played at Rivercut Golf Course located in Springfield, Missouri. The course will play as a par 72 and stretches 6,159 yards.
 
The Coyotes are one of 14 teams competing in the tournament. USD, Omaha, and Western Illinois are the three schools representing the Summit League at this event. The teams will play 36 holes on Monday followed by a final 18-hole round on Tuesday. Monday will be an 8:00 a.m. shotgun start while Tuesday will be an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.
 
Head coach Brett Bennett has a smaller roster this year compared to others but brings back three pieces from last year's squad. Danica Badura, Akari Hayashi, and Molly Fossen are all returners on this year's team while Emma Henningsson, Catie Nekola, and Alexa Wingnean are welcomed in as freshman. The lineup for the MSU/Payne Stewart Memorial tournament will consist of Hayashi, Badura, Henningsson, Nekola, and Fossen.
 
Badura is the team's leading returner for her junior season. Badura compiled a 76.73 stroke average in the 2021-22 season and recorded three top-10 finishes on the year. Hayashi also returns for her junior season after a 77.66 stroke average last season. She had three top-10 finishes last season, all coming in the final three regular season events. Hayashi had her best finish of the season at the Diane Daugherty Invite where she placed in fourth. Fossen, a fifth-year senior, had one of her best seasons in a Coyote uniform last year. She had a 78.19 stroke average and recorded three-top 10 placements including a career-best fifth-place finish at the Diane Daugherty Invite. Fossen also shot the lowest round of her career in the spring with a 74 at the HBU Huskies Invitational.
 
South Dakota last played in the MSU/Payne Stewart Memorial tournament at the beginning of the 2019 season. The Coyotes recorded a ninth-place finish in that tournament.
 
Fans can hear from Akari Hayashi and head coach Brett Bennett in the first episode of Catching Up with Women's Golf for the new season.


 
Tournament: MSU/ Payne Stewart Memorial
Dates: September 12-13
Host: Missouri State
Location: Springfield, Missouri
Course: Rivercut Golf Course
Course Par / Yardage: Par 72 / 6,159 yards
Tournament Field (14): Arkansas State, Creighton, Drury, Lindenwood, Missouri State, Murray State, Oklahoma City, Omaha, South Dakota, Southern Illinois, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UTEP, Western Illinois, Wichita State