UK Women’s Golf Holds Steady on Second Day of SEC Championship
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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – On moving day of the Southeastern Conference Championship, the Kentucky women’s golf team stayed in contention for a solid team finish while junior Grace Rose is still in the hunt for a top-10 showing.
The Wildcats are in ninth place at 11-over par with their second straight sub-300 round (296 on Saturday) at the Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama. Junior Grace Rose continued to play steady golf and is among the leaders heading into Sunday’s finale.
That final round will take place Sunday starting at 9 a.m. ET. The Wildcats will begin teeing off at 10:28 a.m. ET. Fans can continue to follow along with live scoring at Golfstat.com.
“Little bit of a tougher finish for us this afternoon,” head coach Golda Johansson Borst said. “The back nine is definitely more challenging than the front but we just didn’t have as many birdies drop towards the end as we did yesterday. It’s disappointing that we gave away as many shots as we did towards the end but overall we didn’t lose that much ground and a low round tomorrow can make a big difference. We will keep fighting and we know we have a lot of great golf left in us from the first two days.”
No. 8 Florida surged into the lead with an 8-under 280 Saturday. The Gators are at 12-under par overall. Georgia’s Harang Lee is the individual leader at 8-under par.
Rose, at 1-under par overall and in a tie for 11th place, is within striking distance at seven shots back. She will need a big day Sunday with a few breaks, but in any case she looks poised for her best finish in a tournament this season.
The junior from Nicholasville, Kentucky, followed a 2-under 70 in the first round with a 1-over 73 Saturday. She went out on the front nine with a 35, battled adversity by following back-to-back bogeys early on the back nine with a birdie, and finished her day with four pars in five holes.
Rose just missed her third straight round of even par or better, but it’s still the best stretch of her career.
Junior Isabelle Johansson joined Rose near the front of the field for much of the day after a splendid front nine. She posted a 32 with three birdies on the front side but the back nine got the best of her for a second straight day for a 74 Saturday. She’s at 3-over par overall and in a tie for 31st.
If Johansson can figure out the back nine in the final round, she’ll have a chance to add another top-20 finish to her team-high total. Johansson is a combined 4-under par on the front nine through two rounds but 7-over par on the backside.
The best Wildcat round of the day belonged to freshman Josephine Chang. Appearing in her first career SEC Championship, Chang moved up nearly 20 positions with an even-par 72. It was Chang’s eighth even- or under-par round of the season, second only to Johansson. She’s in a tie for 47th at 6-over par.
Jordan Chael started the day in the top third of the field after a strong back nine Friday, but the senior was unable to sustain the momentum in the second round and is tied for 55th at 8-over par overall. Freshman Sarah Shipley is tied with her after a 77 Saturday.
The goal all week for the Kentucky women’s golf team is to cap a strong season by cementing a postseason berth in NCAA regionals. In a field that features six teams ranked in the top 25 and three in the top 10, a good showing could lock up an at-large spot for a team that entered the week ranked No. 53 in the Golfstat rankings.
Now in its 37th season, the SEC Championship is being played at the Greystone Golf & Country Club’s Legacy Course, a par 72 that plays at 6,202 yards. The Legacy Course is carved naturally from a visually dramatic landscape of placid lakes, meandering streams and the undulation of Alabama’s Appalachian foothills. Designed by world-famous architect Rees Jones, each hole is an inviting yet demanding contest. The Zoysia fairways and Bent Grass greens found at Legacy provide golfers with surfaces that are both challenging and rewarding.
Kentucky has finished as high as second in the SEC Championship but has never won it. The Wildcats’ highest finish in the Borst era is fifth.
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.
