BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell will open its 2024-25 women’s golf season on Monday with the Tiger Classic hosted by Clemson at the Walker Course.
The one-day, 15-team, 36-hole event also features the host Tigers, who finished fifth in the 2024 NCAA Stroke Play Championship. Eight NCAA Division I conferences are represented in the tournament. Campbell is the only CAA school participating in the Tiger Classic, while the Sun Belt and Big South each have four teams.
Under the leadership of the head coach John CrooksCampbell, who is entering his 34th year leading the program, has earned NCAA postseason berths in 11 of the last 12 seasons. Campbell finished fourth at the 2024 CAA Championship — his inaugural season in the league — but four Camel returnees finished in the top 15 individual players, including the league’s Rookie of the Year Alicia Olsson.
Live scores are available at scoreboard.clippd.com.
Tiger Classic
The Walker Course / Clemson, SC
Par 72, 6209 yards / August 26, 2024
Live results: Scoreboard.clippd.com
Format: 36 holes with shotgun start at 8:30 a.m.
The field (15 teams): Appalachian State, CampbellCharlotte, Clemson, Gardner-Webb, Georgia Southern, Jacksonville State, Jacksonville, Mercer, North Alabama, UNC Asheville, UNC Greensboro, Presbyterian, USC Upstate, Troy, Western Carolina.
The course – The Walker Course (Par 72, 6209 yards): Clemson University’s Walker Course has been recognized by the South Carolina Golf Association as one of the best golf courses in the state. It is located on the shores of Lake Hartwell and just a few shots from the center of campus. Designed by DJ DeVictor, the Walker Course was recently named “Best you Can Play” by the South Carolina Golf Panel. The par 72 course features Diamond Zoysia greens and Bermuda fairways.
The coach: In his 35th year as head of the Campbell men’s golf program and his 34th year as head coach of the CU women, John Crooks was named league coach of the year 23 times during his tenure. His teams have combined for 35 NCAA postseason appearances, including 15 consecutive appearances for either men or women. His teams have won 160 tournaments, and with 99 career tournament titles, Crooks trails only Duke’s Dan Brooks (143) on the all-time coaching victories list among Division I women’s coaches. He has led his teams to 27 league titles, including 19 for the women and eight for the men.
The lineup:
Second semester Alicia Olsson (Amal, Sweden) was named WGCA All-America Scholar, CAA Rookie of the Year, First-Team All-CAA and to the CAA All-Tournament Team after finishing 5th at the league championship. She led the 2023-24 team with a 74.1 batting average (fifth lowest all-time by a Campbell freshman) and posted four top-10 finishes in 10 matches. Olsson has posted 17 top-10 finishes in 26 WAGR events, including a win over the summer at the Swedish Junior Tour Elite #1 tournament.
First semester Fanni Groenlund (Finland) Campbell came into the race with 12 top-10 finishes in 23 WAGR events, including a fourth-place finish at the 2024 Finnish Amateur Championship. She won the 2023 Finnish Junior Match Play title and finished second at the 2024 Finnish Tour Hirsala and third at the 2023 Finnish Stroke Play Championship.
Junior Isabella Hahne (Kungsbacka, Sweden) She already ranks sixth on the school’s career average list (74.39) with five top-10 finishes in 20 games. She finished 10th at the 2024 CAA Championship. Hahne was the 2023 Big South Freshman of the Year and was named to the All-Conference first team. She shot a college-low 68 (-2) in the final round of the 2024 Gators Invitational. She won the 2023 Sea Best Intercollegiate and has five top-10 finishes in WAGR tournaments in her career.
Red shirt for juniors Isabella Grimbrandt (Stockholm, Sweden) was a 2024 WGCA All-America Scholar and was named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. She posted a season-best finish of T14 at the CAA Championship and posted a 75.7 scoring average with four top-25 finishes. Grimbrandt has one career top-10 finish (T8 at the 2022 Golfweek Fall Challenge). Over the summer, she competed in two professional tournaments on the LET Access Tour as an amateur.
Red shirt for juniors Taylah Ellems (Canberra, Australia) will compete in her 12th career event for the Camels. Ellems is a member of the 2023 Big South All-Freshman team and has a career batting average of 77.4. She helped Campbell win the 2023 Big South title and competed in all three rounds of the 2023 NCAA Raleigh Regional.
Second semester Mira Berglund (Örnsköldsvik, Sweden) will compete in the Tiger Classic as an individual. She was named WGCA All-America Scholar and All-CAA second team in 2023-24. She posted a 75.26 stroke average (seventh best all-time for a Campbell freshman) and competed in nine events, finishing in the top 25 four times. During the summer, she won the Swedish Junior Tour #2 Orebro and Swedish Junior Classics, two of her six top-10 finishes in 18 WAGR events.
Next: Following the Tiger Classic, the Camels will compete in the Golfweek Fall Challenge at Caledonia Golf & Fish Club in Pawley’s Island, SC, September 8-10.
