April 1, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky women’s golf team will conclude its 2011 spring regular season this weekend at the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic held at the University of Georgia Golf Course (par 72, 6,335 yards) in Athens, Ga.
The three-day tournament, running from April 1-3, will be a bit different than the other tournaments UK has played in this season. First, all five competitors from each school will play together, as opposed to seeded players from three or four teams playing together.
Second, a team’s score for each hole will be determined by the lowest four scores on that hole. This alteration will allow every player the chance to contribute on every hole. The individual champion will still be determined as the player with the best relation-to-par score over the 54 holes played this weekend.
“We are incredibly excited about this event,” UK head coach Golda Johansson Borst said. “It is the final event of the regular season for us and will be a unique challenge. The girls will play in a five-some together, which is something we have not done before. The event has a strong field of 23 teams and we are excited about what we can accomplish this week.”
Kentucky will send sophomores Heather Lott, Betsie Johnson and Ashleigh Albrecht, freshman Liz Breed and junior Ashlee Rose to Athens to compete for the title. Albrecht leads Kentucky with a 74.89 average score per round.
Albrecht’s season- and career-low tournament score came at the UCF Challenge in mid-February when the Murrieta, Calif., native fired an 8-under-par 208 en route to earning co-tournament champion honors at the UCF Challenge held at the RedTail Golf Club in Sorrento, Fla.
Twenty-three teams from around the country will be competing in the Liz Murphey Collegiate Class this year, including eight schools from the Southeastern Conference. Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU and South Carolina will tee off against the Cats this weekend, along with Chattanooga, Duke, Florida State, Furman, Georgia State, Kennesaw State, Kent State, Michigan State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Purdue, Virginia and Wake Forest.
The 23 competing schools have descended to Athens to try and earn the Liz Murphey title, but they still found time to get away from the course on Thursday and have some fun. “Today was the practice round followed by a team picnic,” Borst said. “After dinner all the teams got together and competed in an egg toss, fishing and the coaches played closest to the pin. It was a great way to unwind and have fun before the start of the tournament.”
Sophomore Lindy Duncan of Duke won the individual title last year and the Blue Devils also won the team championship. Go to UKathletics.com for live scoring throughout the tournament and for all Kentucky women’s golf news.
