WEST POINT — Even in her own backyard, Conner Beth Ball caught some flack.
Walking into Old Waverly Golf Club early Saturday ahead of her 7:35 a.m. practice round, an elderly gentleman teased her in reference to the Ole Miss garb she donned — a powder blue golf skirt, a white sleeveless polo with “Ole Miss” embroidered on her chest and a white cap with Colonel Reb swinging a golf club.
The man turned out to be a Mississippi State fan.
It was good to be home.
Ball, a 20-year-old Madison native whose parents live in Starkville, is the lone Mississippian in the field at this week’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Old Waverly Golf Club. The Ole Miss junior qualified for the tournament at Brookfield Country Club in Roswell, Georgia — shooting a 1-under 71 at the event.
“I’m really excited to be here at such a great event and represent not only my home state, but Ole Miss and my friends and family,” she said. “Being a hometown girl out here is a great feeling and I’m just really excited to be here.”
A competitive family
Bill Ball says Conner Beth ought to have been a linebacker.
Teasing his daughter good-naturedly as she made her way down the sixth fairway during a practice round Saturday, he quipped that her competitive fire and feistiness on the course could have easily translated to football.
Bill is a competitor in his own right. After graduating from MSU in 1993, he spent time as an assistant basketball coach at Itawamba Community College and Delta State before taking the head coaching job at the University of Arkansas at Monticello in May 1996.
Following a two-year stint leading the Boll Weevils, he returned to his hometown of Starkville and spent time on Rick Stansbury’s staff between 1998 and 2000.
Bill later headed the boy’s program at Jackson Academy before recently accepting a post at Starkville Academy.
“I think he’s really excited to be at SA and get to coach my brother in a couple years,” Conner Beth said.
The banter between father and daughter persisted for much of the front nine holes — though it reached its boiling point early.
Teeing off just below the practice putting green, Ball’s first shot of the day was a wayward drive into the rough on the right side of the par-4, 383-yard hole.
Frustrated, she lined a seven iron into the water on her ensuing swing.
Irritated with the result, Bill and Conner Beth jawed at each other a bit. Bill relented. Conner Beth carried her own clubs the rest of the front nine.
“We’re a little bit competitive in our family,” Conner Beth said through a smirk. “So Dad will not be on the bag this week, (Ole Miss) Coach Kory (Henks) will be caddying for me … but my dad definitely gets me pumped up.”
Growing up with Old Waverly
Bill Maxey hopped into action.
A longtime family friend of the Balls, Maxey heard Conner Beth was carrying her own bag through the first nine holes.
Greeting her near the 10th tee box, he offered to caddy the rest of the way.
Later, as Maxey and Conner Beth approached the 14th green, a voice rang out from the porch of a house overlooking the course.
“Is that Conner Beth?” it said.
“Yep,” Maxey responded.
It was the grandfather of MSU junior golfer Blair Stockett — a close friend of Conner Beth’s.
It’s little moments like these that make Old Waverly home for Conner Beth.
Whether for Fourth of July barbecues or the golf itself, she’s been coming to the club for years — giving her an obvious comfort during a week packed with pressure.
“A lot of the members at Old Waverly have seen me since I was 5, 6, 7 years old,” Ball said. “So it’s really cool to have not only just family connections with blood but family connections up here.”
On the golf front, Bill says Conner Beth has played the course 40-50 times — though he’s not sure on an exact number.
Conner Beth noted the tee boxes have been moved back and the rough is far thicker than she’s ever seen it.
Speaking into her iPhone between shots, she recorded voice notes of any new observations she made during the practice round in an attempt to plan her attack for the week.
“It’s almost a completely different golf course right now with the way the rough is and how fast the greens are,” Conner Beth said. “But it’s still Waverly and it’s still gorgeous so I’m excited we’re getting to have (the tournament) out here.”
‘Not one for dramatics’
Walking toward her ball in the rough on the left side of the green at No. 18, Ball and playing partners Crista Izuzqueza and Katherine Hollern joked they were ready for lunch.
It had been more than five hours since the trio teed off and none of the three have eaten much more than a granola bar in the time since.
Addressing her ball, Conner Beth landed her shot six feet short of the hole. Running down toward the cup, the ball inched its way across the green before falling in for a hole-out.
Conner Beth raised her arms triumphantly.
“I’m not one for the dramatics,” she said.
The last time a major tournament was played at Old Waverly was the 1999 U.S. Women’s Open. At just nine months old, Conner Beth sat in the gallery with her grandparents during the event.
This morning at 8:15 a.m. it was her teeing off in front of young onlookers — hoping to inspire the next wave of Mississippi golfers.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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