UK Women’s Golf Moves up Four Sports at Hurricane Invitational
CORAL, GABLES, Fla. – Following a disappointing opening round at the Hurricane Invitational, Kentucky women’s golf head coach Golda Borst was blunt in her assessment of her team: She was disappointed and she wanted – no, she expected – her team to step up.
The Wildcats did exactly that and stepped up in a big way Tuesday with four Wildcats posting improved rounds. After the difficult first round, the Wildcats demonstrated to their head coach that they mean business by creeping up the leaderboard four spots into eighth place.
Kentucky shaved 11 strokes off its first-round score, recording a 9-over-par 297 on Tuesday. Overall, UK is at 29-over par heading into the final round at the Biltmore in Coral Gables, Florida.
The Wildcats will return to work Wednesday at 8 a.m. for the final round in a shotgun format. Live scoring will continue to be available at Golfstat.com.
“Today was an improvement, but we have more left in the tank,” Borst said. “We got off to a steady start and worked our way into our round. We are still struggling to make birdies but we are giving ourselves lots of opportunities, so it’s only a matter of time before they drop for us.”
Tournament host Miami (Fla.) University finds itself in the No. 1 spot on moving day after posting a 2-under-par 286 on Tuesday. The Hurricanes carry a three-stroke lead into the final round over first-round leader Oklahoma (1-over par).
Senior Isabelle Johansson matched her first-round score with a 2-over-par 74. Her scorecard advanced her individual standing to a tie for 19th at 4-over par overall. She totaled two birdies in the second round and has proven to be the most consistent Wildcat in the Hurricane Invitational thus far.
Looking more like the golfer that’s paced UK throughout the 2017-18 season, senior Grace Rose improved her first-round score by two strokes with a 2-over-par 74. That bumped her up the individual leaderboard into a tie for 28th at 6-over par. Rose only recorded one birdie on the round, but with 14 pars, the Kentucky native left promising putts on the golf course heading into Wednesday’s round.
Junior Leonie Bettel bounced back from an uncharacteristic first round, posting a 2-over-par 74 on day two. She recorded back-to-back birdies on the No. 18 and the No. 1 par 5s for three total birdies in the round. Shedding six strokes off her first-round score, Bettel finds herself at 10-over par and in the top 50 after moving up 18 spots on Tuesday.
Sophomore Josephine Chang caught the Kentucky momentum too, firing a 3-over-par 75. Chang shaved the most strokes in the second round of the Wildcats, improving her first-round score by five shots.
Tied with Chang in 51st at 11-over par is freshman Sarah Fite. Playing in her first tournament for the team score, Fite settled in Tuesday with a 5-over-par 77 in the second round.
Junior Claire Carlin, competing as an individual, fired an opening-round 70 but didn’t find as much success in the second round. She recorded an 8-over-par 80 but remains in the hunt at 6-over par overall and in a tie for 28th.
“This tournament is far from over and we have yet to play our best golf,” Borst said. “I know this team is eager to get back on the course in the morning to continue to make up ground.”
Kentucky is competing in a competitive 13-team field that includes Barry, Coastal Carolina, Florida International, Maryland, Mercer University, Miami, Middle Tennessee, Oklahoma, Penn State, South Dakota State, South Florida and Virginia Tech. Miami and Oklahoma are both featured in Golfstat’s top 25.
The Hurricane Invitational is taking place at the Biltmore Golf Course as a par 72 at 6,150 yards. Designed by Donald Ross in 1925, it is pegged as one of the finest golf courses in Southern Florida.
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.
