Cathryn Brown Leads, Kentucky in Second Place Through 36 Holes at the Johnie Imes
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Under the sunny skies of Columbia, Missouri, the University of Kentucky women’s golf team played the first 36 holes at The Johnie Imes Invitational at The Club at Old Hawthorne on Monday. The Wildcats, once again, have a leader in the clubhouse, while the team is sitting in second place.
UK turned in a 6-under in the first 18 holes and a 3-over on the second lap around the golf course to land in second place ahead of the final round, 11 shots behind leader and host Missouri. The next closest team is Wichita State in third place, 16 shots back at 13-over.
Kentucky, Missouri and Wichita State will be paired together in the final round Tuesday, which will be a shotgun start at 9 a.m. ET.
Looking to hold the top spot on the individual leaderboard tomorrow is Cathryn Brown.
The junior was like a thoroughbred running for the roses in the first round Monday; as soon as the gates opened she was off.
In the first round, the Eddyville, Kentucky native had a wildly impressive front nine, recording more birdies than anything else. She collected six birdies and three pars there, making the turn 6-under. She didn’t let off, though, rolling in an eagle on the par-5 No. 10 to reach 8-under through 10 holes.
Of course, no good deed goes unpunished, so she scribbled in a bogey on the par-4 No. 11 but quickly recovered with her eighth birdie-or-better marking of the round on the par-4 No. 17.
The junior – who finished tied for second place at the Folds of Honor Collegiate less than two weeks ago – assembled an 8-under-par 64 in the first round for a four-shot lead going into the second round.
It marked her career best by two shots and it tied the second-best, 18-hole individual round in program history.
Through the first two tournaments, this young lineup has already recorded the fourth-best and the second-best, 18-hole individual rounds in program history, including Anastasia Hekkonen’s 7-under at the Folds of Honor Collegiate earlier this month.
Even after the second round, which she assembled a 73 (+1), Brown remains the leader in the clubhouse at 7-under-par 137. She is one shot in front of second place, which is occupied by Melanie Walker of Missouri.
As if nothing changed since the Folds of Honor Collegiate, Anastasia Hekkonen also hung in the top 10 all day.
The reigning Southeastern Conference Player of the Week went 2-under in the first round to find T5. She carried that momentum to the second round, recording six straight pars on hole Nos. 1-6 for a steady start. The rest of her round saw a trio of bogeys and a birdie on the par-5 No. 10, a hole she also birdied earlier in the day, to form a 2-over on her second 18.
Hekkonen, a sophomore, is even-par in seventh place with 18 holes remaining.
Karlie Campbell made her 1-over in the first round look easy, littering her scorecard with 15 pars. She also added a pair of bogeys on the two par-3s on the front nine before recording a birdie on the par-4 No. 18. Like the first round, she recorded a 1-over in the second round, too, taking a different path to get there with five bogeys, two birdies and her first eagle of the season on the par-4 No. 10.
The sophomore is 2-over in the event, sitting in a share of 11th place ahead of the final round.
C.A. Carter shed four strokes off her morning score to her afternoon score, turning in an even-par 72 on her second lap around the golf course. In front of fiends and family who made the trip from her hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, she scattered four birdies across the second round. It marked the sophomore’s third round of par-or-better through 17 rounds in her college career.
She is 4-over through 36 holes and improved to a share of 18th place.
Raleygh Simpson followed up a 75 (+3) in the first round with a 73 (+1) in the second round. Her first round was used for the team total, and while her second round was even kill most of the afternoon, a double on the par-3 No. 16 and a bogey on the par-4 No. 1 kept her from contributing. Despite those blemishes, the sophomore, who is competing in just the fourth tournament of her college career, had a birdie and 11 pars through the first 12 holes of her second 18.
She is 4-over through 36 holes and tied for 18th place with Carter.
Big Blue Nation can track live scoring for the final round at The Johnie Imes Invitational here: scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/239265/scoring/team.
Scorecard
1 Cathryn Brown 64, 73 … 137 (-7)
7 Anastasia Hekkonen 70, 74 … 144 (E)
T11 Karlie Campbell 73, 73 … 146 (+2)
T18 C.A. Carter 76, 72 … 148 (+4)
T18 Raleygh Simpson 75, 73 … 148 (+4)
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s golf team, follow the team on X, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
