UK Women’s Golf to Meet Familiar Foes in LSU Tiger Golf Classic
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BATON ROUGE, La. – A familiar tournament for the Kentucky women’s golf team will bring about some familiar foes when the Wildcats travel to Baton Rouge, La., this Sunday through Tuesday in the annual LSU Tiger Golf Classic at the University Club. Seven of the 17 teams in the field reside in the Southeastern Conference.
More importantly, of the 17 teams in the field, four are ranked in Golfstat’s top 25 and nine of them are in the top 50, providing UK with another opportunity to move up in the rankings.
The LSU Tiger Golf Classic has been a mainstay on Kentucky’s spring schedule for years.
“We are very excited to be back in Baton Rouge,” said UK head coach Golda Johansson Borst, a former assistant at LSU from 2007-10. “The golf course is in great shape and the tournament has a national championship feel with the top teams in the country teeing it up. We have had a good couple of days of practice with the girls being on spring break and are looking forward to being back in action.”
The Wildcats are hoping to making a late-season push and possibly return to Baton Rouge for the NCAA regionals in the spring. The University Club in Baton Rouge is one of the sites for this year’s 2016 NCAA women’s regionals in early May.
UK is coming off a 17th-place finish two weeks ago at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate after tying for fifth in February at the UCF Challenge.
The Tournament
Now in its 34th season, the LSU Tiger Golf Classic has been an annual stop for the Wildcats.
This week’s tournament will tee off Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET with 18 holes, though the first Wildcat doesn’t start until 11:09 a.m. ET. The 54-hole, three-day format will conclude Tuesday.
Seventeen teams and 11 individuals make up the 2016 field with seven teams hailing from the SEC.
LSU is the defending champion and returns 2015 champion Elise Bradley. Duke, ranked No. 3, is the highest-ranked team in the field.
Kentucky finished in 13th place in last year’s tournament and third place in 2014.
The Course
The University Club is always one of the gems of the spring schedule. Completely redesigned and renovated in 2010 under the guidance of PGA Tour pro David Tom and renowned golf course architect Jim Lipe, the course is carved into nearly 300 acres of land.
The challenging layout features wide fairways bordered by pine hammocks and native grasses, in addition to 2,000 feet of beautiful bulkhead.
This week’s tournament will play as 6,237 yards and par 72.
The Lineup
Borst will use the same five golfers she’s used in the previous two tournaments, but the lineup has a bit of a shakeup in terms of the order. Sophomore Isabelle Johansson returns to the top spot, followed by junior Jordan Chael, senior Cylia Damerua and sophomore Grace Rose.
Johansson landed outside the top 50 two weeks ago at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate for just the second time this season, but she continues to lead the team in scoring average at 75.8 strokes every 18 holes.
Chael, the owner of one of UK’s top-10 finishes this season, returns to the No. 2 spot after a couple of good weeks of practice. Damerau, who has the other top-10 finish, a team-best fourth-place finish at the UCF Challenge, is in the three spot.
Freshman Anna Hack led the Wildcats at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate by tying for 52nd. Rose was right behind her in 55th.
What’s at Stake
Believe it or not, the regular season is quickly winding down for the Wildcats. After this week’s competition, UK will have just one more tournament before the SEC Championship in mid-April.
In other words, the time is now.
UK looked to be building momentum with the fifth-place finish at the UCF Challenge, but the Wildcats couldn’t overcome a brutally difficult field to start March at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. Despite the lower-than-desired place on the leaderboard, it was UK’s first tournament this season where all of UK’s golfers carded scores in the 70s in all three rounds.
How You Can Follow
Fans can follow along with live scoring of the LSU Tiger Golf Classic at golfstat.com.
As always, fans can follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com, for the latest Kentucky women’s golf information.
LSU Tiger Golf Classic
University Club
Baton Rouge, La.
March 20-22
Par: 72
Yardage: 6,208
