UK Women’s Golf Wraps Up Columbus Regional, 2016-17 Season

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Kentucky women’s golf season came to a close Wednesday at the Columbus Regional, but not without the Wildcats’ best effort of the NCAA postseason.

With veterans Isabelle Johansson and Grace Rose firing their best rounds of the week, UK carded its lowest team score of the three-day regional in the final round with an 18-over-par 306. The Wildcats finished the regional in 16th place with a total score of 943 (79-over par).

Kentucky was out of contention by the final round for one of the six spots from the Columbus Regional that will go on to the NCAA Championships. Johansson put herself back in the mix late in Wednesday’s round for one of the three individual berths but was ultimately too far back to make a full comeback.

“The final round was a lot better,” head coach Golda Johansson Borst said. “Still not what we’re looking for, but I was really, really happy for Bella and Grace. It was a battle for them today, but they stepped up, and we needed them to do that. That was good to see. 

“The other three struggled a little bit today. I think Claire (Carlin) really battled and so did Sarah (Shipley) and Josephine (Chang). Thee scores could have been better obviously, but their battle was better today, the fight was better, and I was proud of them for that.”

Florida, South Carolina, Florida State, Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan claimed the six spots from the Columbus Regional that will move on to the national championships, to be held May 19-24 at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Illinois. The low six teams and the low three individuals not on those teams from each of the four NCAA Regionals (Columbus Regional, Albuquerque Regional, Lubbock Regional, Athens Regional) advance to the NCAA Championships.

Southeastern Conference brethren Florida and South Carolina tied for the top scores of the Columbus Regional at 22-over par, a testament to the difficulty of the famed Scarlet Course at the Ohio State University Golf Club. Half the field shot more than 50-over par. 

Kentucky seemed to adjust to the difficulties of the layout as the week wore on.

“This course gets more manageable the more times you play it,” Borst said. “This was our fourth round on it (including the practice round) and I think they learned from the last three rounds. They adjusted their decision making and trusted their short greens more and got more used to the greens. We made some more birdies today.”

Johansson led the way Wednesday with three of the birdies as she went on to shoot an even-par 72 in the final round. Needing to go low Wednesday to try to claim one of the three individual NCAA Championships spots, Johansson made a valiant push on her final nine holes of the tournament.

After sticking her third shot about eight feet from a ridiculously tough pin position on the par-5 fourth hole, she rolled in her birdie putt to get to even par for the day. She followed on the par-3 fifth hole with another brilliant shot, getting within about 10 feet. 

This time, however, her birdie putt lipped out, as did her birdie attempt on No. 6. Those would ultimately end her chance at her second career NCAA Championships appearance. She also made it in 2015, when she became the first Wildcat since Heather Kraus in 1998 to advance to that round.

Johansson ended the regional in a tie for 22nd at 9-over par. 

Rose was nearly just as good Wednesday and regained the consistent form that defined much of her 2016-17 season. She bogeyed just two holes on the day to go along with 15 pars and one birdie – on the par-3 seventh hole. 

The junior from Nicholasville, Kentucky, recorded her best score of the week on Wednesday with a 1-over-par 73 to finish at 15-over par and in a tie for 43rd.

Sophomore Claire Carlin also notched her best round of the regional in the final round with a 7-over 79. She tied for 89th at 34-over par. 

Freshman Josephine Chang and Claire Carlin had tough conclusions to the week but gained valuable experience from their first NCAA postseason. Chang tied for 85th at 29-over par and Shipley tied for 87th at 31-over par.

Although Kentucky didn’t accomplish its ultimate goal of advancing to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1992, the 2016-17 was largely a success. 

After missing the postseason in 2015-16 for the first time in Borst’s now seven seasons as a head coach, the Wildcats bounced back in a big way this year with a mix of youth and veterans. UK posted four top-five finishes in its 10 stroke-play tournament format events this season, plus a win at the Battle of the Bluegrass in a dual match vs. Louisville. The Wildcats also shot three rounds under par as a team, including a school record 277 (11-under par) in the final round of the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate. UK’s team scoring average of 298.13 is the second best in school history, behind Borst’s 2013-14 squad.

Individually, there were a number of milestones. Johansson tied for first at the season-opening Minnesota Invitational in the fall before Shipley followed by winning the individual bracket at the East & West Match Play Challenge. Senior Jordan Chael went low at the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate with a 65 and then Johansson did one better with a 64 at the UCF Challenge, tying the best 18-hole score in school history.

Johansson also finished with the best single-season stroke average in school history (with full records dating back to 1987) at 73.4 while also setting the single-season program mark for most rounds of par or better with 12. Rose became a steady presence in the spring and played Kentucky’s best golf down the stretch while freshmen Shipley and Chang got valuable experience with a combined 21 event appearances. 

The Wildcats will only lose two seniors next season in Chael and Megan Kinney, return the core of the 2016-17 team, and add highly touted signees in Claire Cameron and Sarah Fite. Add it all up and Kentucky women’s golf appears to be as strong as ever in the Borst era.

In the immediate aftermath of the Columbus Regional and the conclusion of the 2016-17 season, Borst was already looking forward to next season.

“These five (that played this week) are going to be important moving forward for next year,” Borst said. “They can’t miss a beat this summer. They have to get right back at it. We also have some other returners coming back and we have two strong freshmen coming in. We’re going to need all of those players to really get after it this summer. We can’t back off. We can’t slack off or anything. We want to compete for this thing, and to do that we have to play better.”