Kentucky Women’s Golf Releases 2023-24 Schedule
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Coming off one of its most successful seasons in program history, the University of Kentucky women’s golf program has released its schedule for 2023-24, it was announced by head coach Golda Borst on Monday. The Wildcats will play in eight events during the regular season, before they compete at a new site for the Southeastern Conference Championship and begin the postseason stretch in May.
UK returns six of its seven players from last season, including its two All-Americans in Laney Frye and Jensen Castle. The program also will welcome two freshmen, including Eddyville, Kentucky, native Cathryn Brown and Laurel Springs, New Jersey, native Brooke Oberparleiter.
“We’re excited about our schedule as a whole this season,” Borst said, “as it allows us to compete against the best teams in the country! We’re headed back to some familiar tournaments, including the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational and other, and we also have added a new tournament in The Bahamas. Our team has been wanting to get to a different, more exotic, tournament for years, so we are looking forward to the new opportunity and adventure. One other newer addition is The Blessings event in Fayetteville, Arkansas, which will be televised, so altogether, we are certainly looking forward to getting the fall started soon!”
The Wildcats will begin their season at the Cougar Classic in Charleston, South Carolina, from Sept. 11-12, then head to the Mason Rudolph Championship in Franklin, Tennessee, from Sept. 22-24. The Cats opened up their season with that exact same stretch in 2022-23, a season that featured 11 broken school records and two tournament titles.
Then, Kentucky will compete at The Blessings Collegiate in Fayetteville, Arkansas, from Oct. 2-4. UK last played at the rigorous tournament in October 2020, finishing in eighth place on a 912 (+48). It marked the first time that UK played in the tournament, which annually hosts one of the top fields in the nation.
UK will conclude its fall schedule as the reigning champions at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, from Oct. 9-10. Last season, the team topped the 14-team field on an 860 (-4) to garner its second straight triumph in 2022-23. In the process, UK collected a couple of ranked wins, including toppling then-No. 1 Wake Forest by five strokes and then-No. 8 Duke by more than 20 strokes.
Castle led her team to the tournament title on a 209 (-7) there, earning the first medalist honor of her collegiate career after a one-hole playoff.
The Wildcats will pause competitive action for the three months during the winter, before returning to the UCF Challenge in Orlando, Florida, Feb. 4-6, for the fourth straight season and their 10th appearance in the last 13 seasons. The Cats have recorded some of their most impressive tournament totals in program history there, including their second-best tournament total ever (2021-22, 833 (-31)) and their third-best tournament total ever (2022-23, 844 (-20)).
The spring schedule continues in the Big Blue Bahamas.
Kentucky will compete at the Nexus Collegiate in The Bahamas from Feb. 12-14, which is hosted by Texas Tech. It will mark UK’s first appearance at the tournament, and its first international trip since competing at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic in February 2020.
Closing out the regular season, UK will go back-to-back in the state of South Carolina.
Kentucky will first compete at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate for the third straight season, which will be hosted in Hilton Head, South Carolina, from March 4-6. Then, UK will compete at the Clemson Invitational, also for the third straight season, in Lake Keowee, South Carolina, from March 22-24.
The Wildcats will have three weeks off before taking on the talented field at the SEC Championship. For the first time since 2013, the field will compete at a new location. The league office announced last week that the SEC Women’s Golf Championship will move to Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The Pelican Golf Club is a mainstay on the LPGA Tour, as it hosts The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican and “The Match” last December, which featured Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas.
This coming season’s edition of the league tournament will be hosted April 11-16, adding an additional day between the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur and the 2024 SEC Championship.
The SEC Championship will once again mirror the NCAA Championship format with three rounds of stroke play followed by two days of match play. The top eight teams will advance to match play.
UK will then look to make its 10th NCAA Regional in 14 seasons during the Borst era. NCAA Regional play will be May 6-8, and the regional sites will be hosted by Auburn, Washington, Texas A&M, Michigan State, UNLV and Wake Forest. The 2024 NCAA Championship will follow at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa golf facilities in San Diego, California.
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.
