SEC Championship venues are usually on neutral sites, but that won’t be the case this weekend, as the No. 12 ranked Georgia women’s golf team heads into Gamecock country for the SEC Championships at Cobblestone Park Golf Club, a par 71 course playing to the tune of 6,204 yards – in Columbia, S.C.

“Well, I think if our top three, who have been the meat of our lineup this year – Mallory [Hetzel], Carolina [Andrade] and Marta [Silva Zamora] – can have a good tournament that will certainly help. And I feel like Leigh [Crosby] has really come around in the last couple of weeks and is really playing some good golf. And, hopefully Tess [Fordham] has some confidence, so you just never know what can happen,” head coach Kelley Hester said.

Despite the tournament being a home match of sorts for South Carolina, Hester doesn’t believe the home-course advantage will make any noticeable difference.

“It’s a little hard to say,” she said. “They’re ranked 45 in the country, so it could help them a little bit, but it would be unlikely to help them enough to pull out a win.”

Hester actually thinks some unique features of the golf course could play to the advantage of her squad.

“It’s a good golf course,” Hester said. “I think they’re playing it on the longer side, which I hope will be to our advantage, but it’s very hilly, and I think it helps if a team is in shape, and I think our team is in pretty good shape.”

Following an uncharacteristic 14th place finish at the Bryan National Collegiate, Hester has readjusted her starting lineup, removing senior walk-on Melissa Brody in favor of Fordham.

Fordham has played in every other tournament this season, and Hester said this move allows her promising freshman to regain confidence.

“I put Melissa in to give Tess a little bit of a break, but I never really had the intention of sitting Tess out during the postseason,” Hester said.

“I just wanted her to stay at home and work on her game and hopefully get a little confidence and so I pretty much stuck with that decision.”

The SEC boasts six teams in the top 20, led by three top-10 teams, Auburn, Alabama and LSU. Georgia – usually the favorite heading into SECs – is hoping to sneak under the radar for a change.

“Well, I think Auburn, LSU, and Alabama are three very good golf teams, and it honestly wouldn’t surprise if not all three of those were close to the top of the leaderboard on Sunday,” Hester said. “We’re in a different position that Georgia is used to, but I know we have the talent and ability to do well in the post-season.”