Jensen Castle to Play in LPGA’s Cognizant Founders Cup This Week
WEST CALDWELL, N.J. – Fresh off the best 54-hole total of her college career, Kentucky women’s golfer Jensen Castle will head to Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, New Jersey, for the LPGA’s Cognizant Founders Cup.
The tournament begins Thursday with a practice round slated for Wednesday.
Castle was one of two players to earn exemptions into the tournament field. The junior from Kentucky earned special exemption following her incredible championship run at the U.S. Women’s Amateur in August.
The 132-player field at the Founders Cup is expected to have some of the best competition in professional women’s golf, boasting some of the most accomplished players in the sport. The tournament has a $3 million purse, making it the largest LPGA Tour event outside the majors and the CME Group Tour Championship.
Now in its 10th year, the Founders Cup was created to pay homage to the 13 women who created the LPGA in 1950. While typically played in Phoenix, the tournament moved to New Jersey following COVID-19 pandemic.
The 72-hole tournament over four days. Mountain Ridge, a par 72, will play at 6,656 yards.
Castle made history this summer by becoming the first player in school history to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur. She took down the 2020 Women’s Golf Coaches Association Freshman of the Year, Arizona’s Yu-Chiang (Vivian) Hou, with a 2-and-1 victory in the 36-hole championship round. Castle also defeated Stanford’s Rachel Heck, last season’s consensus collegiate national player of the year, in the semifinals.
After withdrawing from several tournaments in July, the U.S. Women’s Amateur was the first time Castle picked up a club in almost a month. Her win marked the first time a No. 63 seed won the Robert Cox Trophy in history, according to the United States Golf Association. Castle did all that while returning from a stress fracture in one of her ribs.
In addition to her special exemption this weekend, the winner of the U.S. Women’s Amateur obtains automatic exemptions for the next 10 U.S. Women’s Amateurs, the 2021 British Open and the 2022 August National Women’s Amateur. Castle did not participate in this year’s British Open due to scheduling conflicts. Castle played – and helped Team USA win – the next week in the Curtis Cup in Wales, another exemption reward of winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Even with some added expectations following her sensational summer, Castle has played well for Kentucky in her first two tournaments of the 2021-22 college season. After tying for 29th place at the Wolverine Invitational with a score of 8-over par, she posted the best 18-hole and 54-hole totals of her college career two weeks ago at the Mason Rudolph Championship.
In the first round of the Mason Rudolph, which took place Sept. 24-26, Castle shot a 66 in the first round and finished with a 54-hole score of 208, 6-under par. She beat her previous 18-hole low by three shots and bested her previous 54-hole low by six strokes. Castle tied for third overall in the field of 81 with rounds of 66, 70 and 72. Castle led the Wildcats to a third-place finish.
Castle has been as good as advertised since joining the Wildcats as the highest-rated signee in school history. As a freshman, she broke the program’s single-season stroke average record at 71.9 and contributed to 30 of 33 available total rounds last season. Castle headlines an experienced group for Kentucky, which is coming off its first NCAA Championship Finals appearance since 1992.
Following her appearance in the Founders Cup this week, Castle will return to the links to represent the Wildcats on Oct. 15-17. The team will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., to play in Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational.
The Wildcats will conclude the team’s fall tournament season the following week, Oct. 25-27, at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss., at the Alley.
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.
