Laney Frye Tied for Fifth Place, Kentucky Chases the Cut Line
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The University of Kentucky women’s golf team battled through cool temperatures, rain and wind during the second round of the 2023 Southeastern Conference Championship, recording a 19-over-par 307 Thursday. The Wildcats are in ninth place on a 25-over-par 601 tournament total at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama.
The course played tough in the elements, with the lowest team of the round still going 6-over. LSU is in first place at 10-over through 36 holes, while Auburn is in second place at 13-over and South Carolina is in third place at 19-over. Kentucky is just two shots back of the top eight and the cut line, with 18 holes to go.
Pacing the lineup through 36 holes thus far, Laney Frye has a share of fifth place with an even-par 144. The junior battled through the morning elements well, going 1-under through her first seven holes on six pars and a birdie on the par-4 No. 4. That helped her reach a tie for first place for the time being.
The Lexington, Kentucky, native then suffered a bogey-bogey-double stretch on hole Nos. 8-10, but a birdie on the par-4 No. 12 allowed her to get back to even par for the tournament. She finished up the second round with a bogey and a birdie down the stretch that washed each other out.
The junior is tied with just one other for fifth place at even par, while she is just two strokes behind second place and five strokes behind leader Megan Schofill of Auburn.
María Villanueva Aperribay made improvements from her first round to her second round, recording a 3-over-par 75 Wednesday. The senior from San Sebastián, Spain, capitalized on her par-5s in the second round, earning birdies on the par-5 Nos. 3 and 11. She also made a solid eight-footer on the final hole of the round to save par on the par-5 No. 18. Villanueva Aperribay is second in the Kentucky lineup right now, sitting in a tie for 24th place at 7-over on the tournament.
Going into the second round in a tie for second place at 3-under, Ivy Shepherd had a bit of a setback Thursday.
Following a 45-minute backup on the par-3 No. 2, Shepherd put her first and second shots in the body of water separating the tee box from the green. She recorded a quadruple on that hole, which set the pace for the rest of her round. Battling through the elements, the senior from Peachtree City, Georgia, rallied an 11-over-par 83 in the second round, sitting in a tie for 32nd place on an 8-over-par 152 tournament total.
Jensen Castle, a senior from West Columbia, South Carolina, recorded an 8-over-par 80 Thursday. She is tied for 61st place on a 15-over-par 159.
Marissa Wenzler, a senior from Dayton, Ohio, improved four strokes from her first round to her second round to record a 6-over-par 78. She went just 1-over through her final 12 holes of the round, helping her sit in a tie for 65th place at 16-over-par 160 for the tournament.
The Wildcats will tee off in the final round of stroke play Friday beginning at 10:40 a.m. ET, paired with Florida and Georgia. The top eight teams after 54 holes will advance to the match-play quarterfinals Saturday.
The field can expect mostly cloudy skies and the potential of scattered showers Friday.
Scorecard
T5 Laney Frye 70, 74 … 144 (E)
T24 María Villanueva Aperribay 76, 75 … 151 (+7)
T32 Ivy Shepherd 69, 83 … 152 (+8)
T61 Jensen Castle 79, 80 … 159 (+15)
T65 Marissa Wenzler 82, 78 … 160 (+16)
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s golf team, follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
