UK Women’s Golf Set to Compete in Unique Florida State Match-Up

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After brushing off the dust in a competitive spring opener at the Florida Challenge, the Kentucky women’s golf team will travel back to Florida to compete in the fifth annual Florida State Match-Up.
 
The two-day tournament is a one-of-a-kind event that is comprised of two competitions. First, the Wildcats will compete in a 12-team field using a standard 54-hole stroke-play format. Second, as a unique twist, each team will combine scores with another team in the field to create a match-up team total. Kentucky will pair with Notre Dame.
 
The match-up portion of the tournament will be determined by taking the best four scores from the partners (which is a total of 10 players) and the worst score to make the match-up team total. At the end of the tournament, the teams with the lowest score will win the match-up. Traditional scoring will be used to determine the individual team champions (lowest four scores each round) and individual champion.
 
“This will be a new experience for us as we have a partner in Notre Dame,” UK women’s golf head coach Golda Borst said. “We are good friends with their coaches and team and we can’t wait to compete with them while still competing to win the overall tournament.”
 
Crowns will be awarded to the team champion, individual champion and the lowest match-up score.

This will mark the first year that Kentucky has played in the Florida State Match-Up. Originally scheduled for Friday through Sunday at the Don Veller Seminole Golf Course and Club in Tallahassee, Florida, the tournament will now be 36 holes on Friday and 18 on Saturday due to inclement weather in the forecast for Sunday. Play is set to begin Friday at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start. Each team will tee off in twosomes with a member of the team they’re pairing up with.
 
Live scoring will be available throughout the weekend at GolfStat.com.
 
“We switched up our schedule this semester and have added a couple new tournaments to start the spring with the FSU Match-Up coming up first,” Borst said.
 
The Florida State Match-Up will feature 12, teams including three teams in Golfstat’s top 20. The field will consist of Coastal Carolina, Columbia, Florida State, Kentucky, Michigan State, Minnesota, Missouri, Notre Dame, Princeton, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Virginia.
 
Kentucky remains No. 50 after a spring opener that featured fine individual performances from seniors Isabelle Johansson and Grace Rose, helping the team card its second fourth-place finish of the season. The Wildcats recorded a 20-over-par 596, generating the positive momentum necessary to battle through a competitive schedule and hopeful postseason run.
 
“I think it’s good that we only had a short break between these events so we can get right back out on the course and compete,” Borst said.
 
Kentucky’s tournament lineup consists of Johansson, Rose, juniors Claire Carlin and Leonie Bettel, and sophomore Sarah Shipley.
 
“We learned a lot about our games in the Florida Challenge and have been building on the positives from that weekend,” Borst said.
 
Johansson is fresh off a solid showing at the Florida Challenge, where she posted an even-par 144 for a season-best fifth-place finish in the Florida Challenge. The even-par finish also awarded her the Battle of the Bluegrass individual championship in the annual event vs. Louisville. Johansson, who set the program record for the lowest single-season scoring average with a 73.42, is in her final season as a Wildcat. With season-opening kinks behind her, that momentum should help the team to another successful finish.
 
Another senior leader expected to turn heads this weekend is Rose. The Kentucky native captured her second-best finish of the season in the spring opener, carding a 5-over-par 149 (tied for 14th). Kentucky’s most consistent player in the fall, she leads the team in lowest stroke average this season with a 73.5.
 
Carlin demonstrated promising talent just one week ago at the Florida Challenge. The junior recorded back-to-back 75s to secure the best finish of her career, tied for 16th. The Texas native is playing the best golf in her Wildcat career with a season stroke average of 77.2.
 
Bettel’s ability to carry over her success in the fall is essential to the Wildcats’ season goals. The fall included a team-high two top-20 finishes and a team-high-tying three rounds of par or better. Kentucky has consistently relied on the junior’s scorecard, using 11 of her 13 scores this season.
 
Shipley competed in all four tournaments in the fall. She will have an opportunity in her spring debut to tally her first par-or-better round of the season.
 
Don Veller Seminole Golf Course was renovated by golf course architect Robert C. Walker in 2004. Situated in natural rolling hills, the course will play as a par 72 at 6,212 yards.
 
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.