By Lohan Sutton
The Lady Vols just reminded everyone that last year’s historic run was not a one-off.
Tennessee women’s golf team opened the 2026-27 season the same way it opened last fall, a runner-up finish at the Cougar Classic in Charleston, South Carolina.
After sitting tied for third at 1-under through 36 holes, the Lady Vols posted their best team score of the week, 5-under in the final round.
The 6-under-par finish was good enough to hold off Baylor by a single stroke to claim solo second.
The Florida squad ran away with the victory, finishing with a team score of 16-under-par.
Team Leaderboard
- Florida, -16
- Tennessee, -6
- Baylor, -5
- Arkansas, -1
- Miami, +4
- Furman, +5
- Ole Miss, +6
- Vanderbilt, +7
- Clemson, +10
- LSU, +13
- UCF, +15
- Charleston, +17
- NC State, +21
- Rutgers, +23
- Wisconsin, +24
- Boston College, +29
- Georgia, +39
- Charlotte, +41
Sophie Christopher set the tone for the Lady Vols opening with a 4-under-par in round one. She finished her tournament at 5-under-par and tied for second individually.
Freshman An Le Chuc made an immediate statement in her Rocky Top debut. She carded 72-68-71 to finish 2-under-par and tied for ninth.
Sofie Engesaeth closed with a bogey-free stretch in the last 10 holes to finish T-22.
Madison Messimer, last year’s SEC Freshman of the Year, finished the tournament 4-over-par.
Kaopan Thapasit finished strong with a 2-under surge after opening the tournament 9-over through 36 holes.
Tennessee Leaderboard
Sophie Christopher, -5
An Lee Chuc, -2
Sophie Engesaeth, +1
Madison Messimer, +4
Kaopan Thapasit, +7
This was a strong first look after the Lady Vol’s 2025-26 season, which reset the program’s ceiling. A school-record four tournament wins, the first SEC championship in Lady Vol golf, and a second straight NCAA Championship appearance.
Two All-Americans, Kyra Van Kan and Messimer, are returning, and the team has added depth with Lee.
Next up is the Canadian Collegiate Invitational on Sept. 21-22. The season is young, and the standard is set as the Lady Vols intend to keep writing history.