Rachel Thompson Wins Summer Golf Tournament

The Accelerated Golf Tour is a new summer avenue for area collegiate and advanced high school golfers.

The tour consists of 10 36-hole tournaments played on some of the premier facilities in the St. Louis area.

Rachel Thompson played in her first Accelerated Golf Tour event June 22-23. The recent St. Joseph's Academy graduate won the graduate women's division in the tournament which was played at Aberdeen Golf Course in Eureka.

There were only a handful of players in her division and Thompson won with identical scores of 85.

"Those are certainly not the best scores I have ever shot," Thompson said. "But it is hard to go low in the conditions we played. The wind was blowing about 30 miles per hour both days.

"I don't necessarily like to play in that weather but you just have to not let it affect you too much. I wasn't hitting the ball that well but my short game saved me."

Thompson has a toned down summer schedule as she prepares to attend Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska in the fall where she plans to study Pre-Med and play golf.

"I also considered Dayton quite a bit but Creighton has great academics and a fantastic golf coach. Debbie Conry has been there a long time and they always seem to be in contention for the Missouri Valley Conference title."

Thompson comes off a stellar high school career. She was a three-time state qualifier and finished in the top 30 each time. Thompson was all state as a junior when she finished 12th and was tied for fifth this year.

"My goal this year was to be in the top five so I was very happy," said Thompson, who was also the medalist in the Angel Classic during the regular season. "I was ecstatic after the first day when I shot a 74 and was in second place. I think my nerves got to me a little the second day (she shot an 81) but was happy with the way I played and finished."

Thompson has a pair of big events lined up for the rest of the summer. She will play in the Missouri Amateur Tournament for the first time on July 12-14. The 54-hole event will be played at Bellerive Country Club, a course where Thompson works during the summer.

She will also compete in the Accelerated Tour event at Norwood Hills Aug. 4-5. Thompson belongs to Norwood Hills.

"I am so excited about playing in those two tournaments," Thompson said. "They will be big tests."