UK Women’s Golf Begins Spring Season at Battle of the Bluegrass
LAKE MARY, Fla. – Coming off a strong fall season that included three top-five finishes, multiple individual championships and record-setting numbers, the Kentucky women’s golf team will open the spring season Monday in a dual match vs. Louisville.
The Wildcats will take on the Cardinals in the third annual Battle of the Bluegrass. This year’s match will take place at the Timacuan Golf Club in Lake Mary, Florida, with a one-day, 36-hole format.
“We are looking forward to getting back on the road and competing on Monday,” head coach Golda Johansson Borst said. “We have had this match for a few years now and our girls are ready to bring the trophy to Lexington. They have all prepared well, and I think Timacuan will provide us with a good challenge to also help prepare us for the UCF Challenge next weekend.”
The Wildcats have been out of action for three months after an incredible fall season. UK finished in sixth place or better in all four tournaments, including back-to-back third-place finishes to end the fall.
The fall success included an individual championship by junior Isabelle Johansson at the season-opening Minnesota Invitational, and freshman Sarah Shipley captured the individual bracket title at the East & West Match Play Challenge.
UK also shot a 54-hole school-record 277 (11-under par) in the final round at the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate.
The Wildcats will try to take that momentum and keep it rolling into the all-important spring season that will culminate in April with the Southeastern Conference Championship and, if all things go according to plan, the team’s sixth NCAA regional appearance in seven seasons under Borst.
UK enters the spring season in fine shape, ranking No. 40 in Golfstat heading into this weekend, but Louisville appears to be a stiff test for the Wildcats, checking in just behind them at No. 46.
Borst will use Johansson, senior Jordan Chael, freshman Josephine Chang, redshirt junior Ale Walker and Shipley to try to win Kentucky’s first Battle of the Bluegrass in its third year in existence. Junior Grace Rose will compete as an individual.
Johansson led the Wildcats in the fall with a 72.9 scoring average and four top-20 finishes. Chael was equally as steady with a 73.5 average, a team-best three top-10 finishes, and a 65 in the final round at the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate, tied for the second-best round in school history.
Chang has had a solid start to her young career. Her first four rounds of the season were all even par or better.
After missing nearly a year and a half due to injuries, Walker has provided a veteran presence in the lineup, including a fourth-place finish in the in the individual portion of the East & West Match Play Challenge.
Shipley captured the aforementioned individual bracket championship at the East & West Match Play Challenge, while Rose tied for 29th at the Cardinal Cup in her only appearance in the fall.
The Wildcats and Cardinals have already seen each other twice this season at the Minnesota Invitational and the Cardinal Cup. UK finished ahead of Louisville in both tournaments.
The Timacuan Golf Club was recently renovated. Not a particularly long course, Timacuan offers challenges in strategy with mounds and differing angles at every hole. It will play at a par 72.
No live stats will be available for this the one-day match.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s golf team, follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
