Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NATCHEZ — A total of 86 of some of the best female golfers from throughout the United States and around the world competed last week in the ANNIKA Women’s All-Pro Tour’s sixth annual Taco Bell Natchez Classic held at Beau Pré Country Club.

Only 36 players got the play in the final round held last Friday after making the cut after Round 2 last Thursday was over with, which was at 2-over-par 146. Forty-eight players missed the cut and two other players withdrew.

When play was completed last Friday, Eleanor Vorster from London, Ontario, Canada, a graduate of Southern Methodist University who turned pro just last year and is just 23 years old, finished in first place and won $10,000 with rounds of 65, 71, and 66 for a three-day score of 14-under-par 202.

Hailey Jones of Dallas, Texas came in second place after a final-round 4-under-par 68 game her a three-day score of 8-under-par 208. She won $4,225 for her runner-up finish.

And that was not the only thing that both Vorster and Jones accomplished for their outcomes. With the ANNIKA WAP being an official partner of the LPGA’s Epson Tour, the top two finishers at every tournament receives exemptions into an EPSON event. Which means that Vorster and Jones will receive an exemption into the Epson Tour’s Copper Rock Championship, which will take place May 15-17.

After the completion of the first round, Louise Olsson-Campbell of Sweden was just two shots behind Vorster at 5-under-par 67. Unfortunately, she faltered back on Thursday and Friday with back-to-back rounds of 2-over-par 74 and ended up finishing in a tie for 21^st place with Milagros Chaves of Paraguay with a three-day total of 1-under-par 215. Chaves bounced back after an opening-round 3-over-par 75 with consecutive rounds of 2-under-par 70.

Rounding out the top five were Maria Balcazar of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico, who had a three-day score of 7-under-par 208. She had rounds of 71, 67, and 71 for a solid third-place finish, as well as Ashley Chow of North York, Ontario, Canada and Jennifer Rosenberg of Syosset, New York, who ended in a tie for fourth place at 6-under-par 210.

Balcazar began Friday’s final round just two shots back of Vorster at 138, but the Canadian started her day with back-to-back birdies en route to a bogey-free front-nine score of 31. Vorster, who birdied both of the par-5 holes and perhaps an unexpected birdie on another hole on the frond side, added three birdies but also one double-bogey 5 on the always-tough par-3 16^th hole for a back-nine score of 35. Vorster overcame that mishap with birdies on the 17^th and 18^th holes.

On the other hand, Balcazar struggled to keep up with the competition. She started out good with birdies on the par-4 2^nd and the par-5 5^th hole, but she then bogeyed the par-3 7^th hole – the same hole that Vorster birdied – and went out at 1-under-par 35. It was more of the same for the 27-year-old Mexican as she had two birdies and two bogeys with the rest being pars for a back-nine score of 36.

Chow shot a round of 4-under-par 68 in her final round on Friday after a tough day on Thursday in which he struggled in a round of 1-over-par 73 that put her at 2-under-par 142. She began the tournament with a round of 3-under-par 69.

Rosenberg’s best round of the tournament was on Friday when shot a strong 6-under-par 66. The other two days she battled the elements, especially the wind like everyone else dealt with, and had scores of 1-under-par 71 on Wednesday and 1-over-par 73 on Friday.

One player who came out of nowhere to finish in a five-way tie for 10^th place was Jennifer Elliott of Australia. After rounds of 2-over-par 74 and ever-par 72 to make it to Friday right on the cut line at 146, Elliott tied champion Vorster for the round of the day with a blistering final-round 6-under-par 66 for a three-day score of 4-under-par 212, jumping an astounding 17 places from where she was to begin her day.