MIAMI LAKES, Fla. ? Senior Kentucky golfer Ali Kicklighter (DeLand, Fla.), in a return to her home state, fired a 1-over-par 73 Sunday to lead the Wildcats in the opening day of the Papa John?s Collegiate Invitational at the Don Shula Golf Resort. The Cats are in a tie for fourth place in the three-day event after shooting a 305 in the tournament?s first round.
?I am really proud of the way we played today,? UK head coach Stephanie Barker said. ?Our first round was very solid. Our short game has really improved since last year and it obviously showed today.?
Kicklighter is currently tied for third place in the tournament field after carding her lowest round of the season and the third lowest round of her career.
?Ali played very steady and consistently today,? Barker said. ?She did a great job off the tee that gave her a really good approach on the green. She put herself in good position to get a lot of birdies or to make par.?
The College of Charleston leads the tournament field after firing a first-round 299. The Wildcats are currently tied with East Carolina and intrastate foe Louisville at 17-over-par. South Florida?s Christina Jones and Mississippi State?s Amanda Mathis each carded even-par 72s to lead the tournament field.
Sophomore Beth Felts (Chattanooga, Tenn.) is in a tie for 11th place with a 75, while junior Katie Johnson (Lexington, Ky.) is tied for 25th place with a 77.
Junior Marissa Muir (Tuscon, Ariz.), in her fourth tournament of the season and her first in team play, shot an 80 and is tied for 45th place. Senior Erin Faulkner (Bowling Green, Ky.) is tied for 63rd place with an 85 to round out the lineup for the Wildcats.
Play in the Papa John?s Collegiate Invitational continues at 8 a.m. Monday with the tournament?s second round. Complete results and a recap will be available on ukathletics.com.
Day 1 Tournament Notes
Kentucky?s first-round 305 was the Cats? second-lowest tournament opening score of the season. The Wildcats fired a first-round 291 in the Wildcat Fall Invitational Oct. 1-2.
Senior Ali Kicklighter?s first-round 73 marks the third lowest round of Kicklighter?s career. Last season, Kicklighter carded a career-best 71 in the second round of the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic. She also shot a first-round 72 in the ACC/SEC Challenge last year.
Team Results: Place Team Round 1 Relation to Par 1 College of Charleston 299 +11 2 Alabama 301 +13 3 Mississippi State 303 +15 T4 Kentucky 305 +17 T4 Louisville 305 +17 T4 East Carolina 305 +17 7 Miami 306 +18 8 Virginia 307 +19 9 South Florida 308 +20 10 N.C. State 310 +22 11 Coastal Carolina 313 +25 12 UAB 322 +34
Kentucky Individual Results: Place Name Round 1 Relation to Par T3 Ali Kicklighter 73 +1 T11 Beth Felts 75 +3 T25 Katie Johnson 77 +5 T45 Marissa Muir 80 +8 T63 Erin Faulkner 85 +13
