Lions compete in first annual Elvis Cup
November 9, 2022
Camille Blaylock, golf intern
TUPELO, Miss. — The Freed-Hardeman men's and women's golf programs played in the inaugural Elvis Cup at the Tupelo National Golf Course on November 7th and 8th in match play format against Blue Mountain Christian (Miss.) University.
The first day was four-ball and alternate shot matches for the men and four-ball and a two-person scramble for the women. Each player was paired with one of their teammates for these matches and they were able to work together to win their match to get points for the overall totals.
Because this was a combined men's and women's event, there were a possibility of 10 points on the first day. The second day was individual matches where a Freed-Hardeman player was paired against a Blue Mountain Christian player as they played each other one-on-one. Because there were 21 matches, there was a possibility of 21 points.
Match play events bring more competitive energy than regular stroke play events. In regular season events, you normally are not playing with one of your teammates so getting to have support from a teammate is special. Junior Bailey Gilbert said, "The match play event was one of my favorite events I have ever played in. Being able to play with a teammate was so much fun and getting to see everyone's competitive spirit come out was really exciting."
Blue Mountain Christian won the event with 16.5 points and Freed-Hardeman had 7.5 points. Both teams hope to make this tournament an annual event.