Feb. 8, 2015
ORLANDO, Fla. – Led by sophomore Haley Mills’ 1-under-par 71, the Kentucky women’s golf team sits in 12th place after the opening 18 holes of the UCF Challenge in Orlando, Fla.
Mills, Kentucky’s top performer in the fall, finished with a strong back nine on Sunday, carding birdies on four of five holes to finish the day one-under on the par-72 (35-37) 6,349-yard setup at Eagle Creek Golf Club.
Mills, a Tyler, Texas native, is tied for 15th place overall, five strokes behind Vanderbilt’s Kendall Martindale (six-under par).
With a six-over 294, UK is 17 shots off first-day leader and 14th-ranked Vanderbilt (11-under 277), but the Wildcats are just seven shots removed from the top five. Iowa State (seven-under 271), No. 17 Virginia (six-under 282), East Carolina (one-under 287) and No. 21 UCF (one-under 287) round out the top five after the first day of competition.
“We didn’t play as well as we wanted to today,” head coach Golda Johansson Borst said. “Some of that was due to decision making and other parts came as a result of tentative swings early in the round. We are capable of much more so we will learn from today and use it to help us get better.”
Kentucky carded the fifth-most birdies on the day with 12 and was a combined five-under par on the par 5s, the fourth-best mark in the tournament.
Freshman Isabelle Johansson, making her UK debut, delivered a strong first impression, posting birdies on three of the first five holes. She was among the individual leaders after the front nine and finished the day with a two-over-par 72, tied for 44th place.
Junior Sarah Harris rebounded from a tough early start with a solid back nine. Sitting three-over after six holes, Harris was one-under par the rest of the day, recording 11 pars and one birdie in the final 12 holes to finish at two-over 74.
Sophomore Ale Walker, a Paintsville, Ky., native, carded eight straight pars to finish her round on Sunday and fired a three-over 75. Junior Cylia Damerau, who placed fourth in last year’s tournament, was one-under over her final seven holes and finished with a four-over 76.
Freshman Grace Rose, competing as individual, fired a first-day seven-over par (79).
Play will resume Monday morning at the beautiful Eagle Creek Golf Club. Rose will begin round two for the Wildcats at 8:30 a.m. The rest of the Wildcats will tee off between the 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. hour. Fans can continue to follow along with live scoring here.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s golf team, follow @UKWomensGolf on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.
Eagle Creek Golf Club
Orlando, Fla.
Feb. 8-10
Par: 72 (35-37)
Yardage: 6,349
First-Round Results
T15th: Haley Mills 71 (-1)
T44th: Isabelle Johansson: 74 (+2)
T44th: Sarah Harris: 74 (+2)
T56th: Ale Walker: 75 (+3)
T66th: Cylia Damerau: 76 (+4)
*T83rd: Grace Rose: 79 (+7)
^12th: Kentucky 294 (+6)
*Competing as individual only
^Includes top four scores only
