Johansson Returns to Form at PING ASU Invitational

TEMPE, Ariz. – On Saturday, the Kentucky women’s golf team was only a few strokes off its first-round total, a score that put it right in the mix at the PING ASU Invitational. The problem in the second round for the Wildcats was a majority of the field went low, dropping UK into a tie for 12th place with 18 holes to play.

Kentucky shot an 11-over par 299 in the second round, just four strokes behind Friday’s total, but all 14 teams in the field fired sub-300 scores at the Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Arizona.

The Wildcats will have some ground to make up on the final day, but a comeback isn’t out of the question. Only 13 shots separate UK from fifth place.

Junior Isabelle Johansson will likely need a repeat of Saturday’s showing if Kentucky is going to make a move. UK’s season stroke leader returned to form with a 2-under 70 and moved up nearly 30 spots in the second round.

No. 5 Arizona State, host of the tournament, leads the field at 10-under par. No. 15 Arizona is three shots behind. Arizona State’s Monica Vaughn is seeking the individual title at 8-under par.

“Tougher finish for us today unfortunately,” head coach Golda Johansson Borst said. “We got off to a solid start again and everyone was looking steady. Then we hit the back nine and we lost the momentum that we had going for us on the front nine. We all know that our team is better than the score we posted today and I feel confident that we will bounce back tomorrow.”

The third round will tee off Sunday at 9:30 a.m. ET. Live scoring will continue to be available at Golfstat.com. 

Johansson entered the weekend leading UK in scoring average (73.1), top-20 finishes (five), top-10 finishes (three), lowest 18-hole round of the season (64) and lowest 54-hole score of the year (208), but she was in the midst of a surprising eight-round stretch without a score of par or better.

That streak ended Saturday with a solid 70.

The Sala, Sweden, native returned to her consistent ways with nearly a bogey-free round. After bogeying the second hole of the day, she carded nothing but birdies and pars. Johansson has six birdies in two rounds, and had it not been for a pair of late triple bogeys in the first round, she would actually be in the hunt for the individual title. She’s currently tied for 28th at 3-over par overall.

Freshman Josephine Chang was in contention after a first-round 71, but she suffered a series of setbacks on the back nine Saturday and is at 6-over par after a 79 on day two.

Chang is in a logjam of seven players in 47th place, which includes two other Wildcats: junior Grace Rose and freshman Sarah Shipley. Rose notched a 2-over 74 Saturday while Shipley recorded a 5-over 77.

Senior Jordan Chael got off to a solid start in the second round at 1-under through eight holes but was unable to sustain it. She is tied for 63rd at 9-over par. 

This week’s field boasts eight 14 teams ranked in the top 50 and three in the top 25.

It’s the 45th edition of the tournament but the first time the Wildcats have made an appearance in it during the Borst era. The Karsten Golf Course is playing host to the tournament with a 6,337-yard, par-72 layout.