Bettel Bounces Back, Sets New Record at SEC Championship

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Few things are certain in a game as difficult as golf, but Leonie Bettel posting a low score during a tournament is as close to a certainty as you can get in the sport.
 
For a record-setting 13th time this season, the Kentucky women’s golfer recorded a round of par or better. On Thursday, in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Championship in Birmingham, Alabama, it was a 1-under-par 71.
 
The round was special for a couple of reasons. For one, it was a great bounce-back day after a rare off performance in the first round. But more importantly, it moved her past Isabelle Johansson’s 2016-17 previous program record of 12 rounds of par or better.
 
Bettel was the lone Wildcat under par on day two of the league tournament at the Greystone Golf & Country Club (par 72, 6,253 yards). UK remains in 14th place with fading but not insurmountable hopes of making match play this weekend.
 
The top eight teams after 72 holes of stroke play advance to match-play format, but with just 18 holes to go and several quality teams in front, Kentucky will have to record one of its best rounds of the season Friday to force its way into the weekend. The Wildcats are 12 shots back of the all-important eighth-place spot.
 
UK shot a 299 Thursday, five strokes better than the first round.
 
“Tough day on the course from an execution standpoint today,” said assistant coach Brian May, who is filling in for head coach Golda Borst this week (maternity leave). “We weren’t able to hit our numbers well enough to give ourselves legitimate birdie opportunities. We have another round to put some things together and execute the way that we can. We are going to have to reach down deep and grind out every last shot we can tomorrow and see where we land.”
 
Part of Kentucky’s climb would include jumping over several ranked teams. In arguably the best league championship field in all of collegiate golf, 10 teams in the field rank in the top 50 of the latest GolfStat rankings, five are in the top 25 and two are in the top 10.
 
No. 12 Florida is atop the impressive field by six strokes at 9-under par. The Gators’ Marta Perez SanMartin leads nine players in red numbers at 7-under par.
 
UK will make a final comeback attempt Friday. The final round of stroke play will begin at 9 a.m. ET with Kentucky teeing off at 10:10 a.m. ET off No. 10 for the third straight round.
 
Live scoring will continue to be available at Golfstat.com.
 
Bettel put a difficult first round behind her with a strong day Thursday. She went off the back nine and recorded two birdies in her first five holes. A bogey on No. 16 and then a double bogey on No. 4 moved her over par, but Bettel fought back again.
 
She birdied No. 5 and then sunk a 10-foot putt on No. 9, her final hole of the day, to get into red numbers. Bettel is now tied for 27th at 3-over par overall and has her sights set on possibly her eighth top-20 showing of the season.
 
Junior Sarah Shipley was UK’s top finisher Wednesday but fell back to the pack Thursday. She carded a 75 and stands at 4-over par overall through 36 holes, tied for 35th.
 
Senior Claire Carlin, playing in her first career SEC Championship, matched Shipley with a 75. She’s in a tie for 57th at 10-over par.
 
Sophomore Rikke Svejgård Nielsen and freshman Casey Ott are also making their SEC Championship debuts. Both are tied for 62nd at 12-over par. Svejgård Nielsen recorded a 78 in the second round and Ott fired a 79.
 
Conditions at the Legacy Course will be even tougher Friday with rain and chilly temperatures (highs in the mid-50s) in the forecast. Designed by world-famous architect Rees Jones, the Legacy Course is carved naturally from a visually dramatic landscape of placid lakes, meandering streams and the undulation of Alabama’s Appalachian foothills.  
 
Kentucky has finished as high as second in the SEC Championship but has never won it. The Wildcats’ highest finish in the Borst era is fifth. UK’s 885 in in the 2017 tournament was its best 54-hole score in the event’s history.
 
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.