Kentucky Women’s Golf Tees Off Spring Schedule at the Paradise Invitational

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The University of Kentucky women’s golf team is back in action this week after more than three months without competing. The Wildcats will take on the Paradise Invitational at the Osprey Point Golf Course (par 72, 6,204 yards) in Boca Raton, Florida, Monday through Wednesday.

UK will tee off in the first round Monday beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET, paired with Southeastern Conference foes Oklahoma and Tennessee.

The Paradise Invitational is the first of five regular-season tournaments this spring before the team embarks on postseason play.

It’ll feature 16 teams, including Kentucky, Tulane, Indiana, Cincinnati, Rutgers, Mercer, Texas Tech, Florida International, Florida Atlantic, Denver, Clemon, Colorado State, Oklahoma, Georgia, Tennessee and Notre Dame.

The Wildcats’ starting lineup this week was determined by the players’ stroke averages from the fall, with junior Cathryn Brown leading the pack on a 71.5 stroke average through four tournaments and 11 rounds. Sophomore Anastasia Hekkonen narrowly follows with a 72.8 stroke average, also through four events and 11 rounds in the fall.

That duo each turned in a winning performance last fall, the first time that Kentucky hauled in at least two individual championships in one season since 2018-19.

Hekkonen plugged in career rounds of 66, 72 and 71 for a 209 (-7) tournament total on the par-72 American Dunes Golf Course at the prestigious Folds of Honor Collegiate. Her 66 marked the lowest round of her college career, her 209 marked the lowest tournament total of her college career and her first-place finish marked the first individual crown of her college career.

Brown followed up in the very next tournament with a triumph at The Johnie Imes Invitational. Brown was crowned champion on a 137 (-7) across 36 holes.

While the final round was canceled, she was 2-under through nine holes, holding a four-shot lead over her opponent sitting second on the individual leaderboard.

It marked Brown’s first tournament title in her college career, too.

The remainder of the lineup this week includes a trio of sophomore – and roommates – Karlie Campbell (73.4), C.A. Carter (74.4) and Raleygh Simpson (76.3).

While the lineup is young, with just one junior and four sophomores, it has proven to be versatile.

The Wildcats had a different top finisher in all four tournaments last fall, tacking on Karlie Campbell’s finish at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational and C.A. Carter’s showing at The Landfall Tradition.

The team earned two top-five finishes through the four tournaments in the fall, turning in a 291.2 scoring average over the 11 rounds. That is a top-five scoring average in program history if the season ended there.

In addition to the lineup this week, Samantha Paradise, a junior transfer out of Daytona State College, also will compete but as an individual. It’ll mark her first tournament as a Kentucky Wildcat.

Fans are encouraged to follow along with live scoring all week long by visiting https://scoreboard.clippd.com/tournaments/239602/scoring/team.

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.