April 5, 2015
GREENSBORO, N.C. — The Kentucky women’s golf team posted its second-best finish of the season and its best since the opening tournament of the season, placing sixth at the Bryan Collegiate with a score of 906, 42-over par. The Wildcats improved their overall team score from the previous two days with a 12-over-par 300 on Sunday, finishing in fifth place at the Champions Course.
At one point Kentucky was as high as second place on the leaderboard during the final day of competition. When it was all said and done, UK carded its best finish of the spring season.
“We had another consistent round today,” head coach Golda Johansson Borst said. “The team played hard and unfortunately we made some mistakes late that we couldn’t make up for. Overall, I couldn’t be more proud of this group. They were aggressive, which led to a lot of birdie opportunities, and they stayed patient all weekend. This will give us some great things to build on as we head into postseason play.”
For the third day in a row, course conditions were a key factor. No team finished under par for a single day team score through all three days of the tournament. No. 19 Florida shot the lowest one-day total of the day and tournament with a three-over-par 291.
The 12th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers (36-over par) came out victorious over host team No. 13 Wake Forest on the second playoff hole. Rounding out the top five were No. 18 Vanderbilt in third at 38-over par, No. 19 Florida in fourth at 40-over par, and No. 35 Florida State at 41-over par.
The Wildcats finished above six teams on the leaderboard ranked in the top 50, including rival and 41st-ranked Louisville, and even a top-10 team in ninth-ranked Northwestern.
For the first time this season, Kentucky had two individuals place in the top 15.
Sophomore Haley Mills, with a total score of 224, eight-over par, finished in a tie for 10th place, her second-best finish of the season. After battling her way back into the top 25 on Saturday, Mills fired an even-par round on Sunday with three birdies on the last four holes to shoot two-under par on the back nine.
This is the sixth time Mills has placed in the top 25 out of the eight tournaments played to date. With her even-par round of 72 on the final day, she brings her total count of even- or under-par rounds on the season to nine, a team high.
Junior Sarah Harris was the second to place inside the top 15 for Kentucky. She finished in a tie for 14th place, her best finish of the season, after shooting a six-over-par 78 on Sunday. Harris was as high as fourth place on the leaderboard during this weekend’s tournament and finished just one shot shy of Mills at nine-over-par, 225.
Freshman Isabelle Johansson, playing in her third collegiate tournament, is starting to get a feel for the college game as she got her best finish of the year as well with a total of 234 (18-over-par). Johansson placed 48th after matching rounds with Mills of even-par 72 on the day.
“Haley and Isabelle played some great golf today and really played within themselves,” Borst said. “Both Haley and Sarah finished in the top 15, which is a great finish in this strong field. They both showed a lot of poise and stuck to their game plans out on the course, which led to their stellar play this week.”
Junior Cylia Damerau, who led the Wildcats in Saturday’s round, finished in a tie for 57th at 20-over par. Nicholasville, Ky., native Grace Rose finished at 24-over par and in a tie for 71st place.
The conclusion of the Bryan Collegiate National wraps up the regular season for the Wildcats as they now look to the SEC Championship that will be held at Greystone Golf and Country Club in Birmingham, Ala. Play begins on April 17.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s golf team, follow @UKWomensGolf on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.
Second-round results
T10. Haley Mills: 77+75+72=224 (+8)
T14. Sarah Harris: 72+75+78=225 (+9)
T48. Isabelle Johansson: 76+86+72=234 (+18)
T54. Cylia Damerau: 85+73+78=236 (+20)
T71. Grace Rose: 79+79+82=240 (+24)
6. Kentucky: 304+302+300=906 (+42)
Bryan Park Golf (Champions Course)
Greensboro, N.C.
April 3-5
Par: 72
Yardage: 6,386
