Kentucky, Cathryn Brown Crowned Champions at the Cardinal Classic
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – All in a day’s work, the University of Kentucky women’s golf team and Cathryn Brown hauled in a couple of championships at the Cardinal Classic at the University of Louisville Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday.
The Wildcats added the event to their calendar just a couple of weeks ago as a late season tune-up with postseason approaching. Five teams competed across two rounds – 36 holes – today, including Cincinnati, Evansville, Illinois-Chicago and Louisville.
Kentucky and Brown led wire-to-wire, with the team going into the second round at 5-under and Brown making her second lap at 4-under.
The team ultimately came up with a 4-under tournament total after putting together the best first round (-5) and the best second round (+1) of any team in the field. The team didn’t just place first, it won by a mile, with Louisville falling in second place on an 8-over tournament total and Cincinnati coming in third place at 27-over.
Brown, an Eddyville, Kentucky, native who is ranked the 57th best player in the country right now, topped the individual field on a 5-under tournament total.
She almost got out of the event unscathed after a blemish-free first round – with four birdies and 16 pars – and a 1-under second round that featured three birdies, just two bogeys and 13 pars.
Her 4-under-par 68 in the first round tied for the third-best, 18-hole score in her college career.
The junior’s individual championship marked her second this season and the second of her career, while both of her titles have come on 36-hole events.
The rest of the lineup also finished in the top 10 out of the 30 players competing, which included individuals.
Raleygh Simpson, a sophomore, came in third place on a 1-under-par 143. She put together a career-best, 1-under-par 71 in the first round followed by second-best, even-par 72 in the second round. Her past seven rounds have all been 3-over or better.
Karlie Campbell grabbed a share of fourth place with an even-par 144 after going 2-over in the morning and 2-under in the afternoon. C.A. Carter earned a share of seventh place from a 3-over tournament total with scores of 71 and 75, while Anastasia Hekkonen took 10th place with a 6-over tournament total for a 73 in the first round and 77 in the second round.
The Wildcats earned their first team championship this season, while also recorded their fifth finish inside the top five in 2025-26.
They’ll compete in one more regular-season event at the Terps Invitational in College Park, Maryland, on April 5 and 6 before the postseason begins in late April.
Scorecard
1 Cathryn Brown 68, 71 … 139 (-5)
3 Raleygh Simpson 71, 72 … 143 (-1)
T4 Karlie Campbell 74, 70 … 144 (E)
T7 C.A. Carter 71, 76 … 147 (+3)
10 Anastasia Hekkonen 73, 77 … 150 (+6)
1 Kentucky 283, 289 … 572 (-4)
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