Cats Cap Comeback with Sixth-Place Finish at Hurricane Invitational
CORAL, GABLES, Fla. – The Kentucky women’s golf team dug itself too deep of a hole to climb out of after the opening round of the Hurricane Invitational to contend for the title, but the Wildcats did an admirable job over the last two days of moving up the leaderboard.
Two days removed from a 12th-place standing, the Wildcats finished the Hurricane Invitational in sixth place at 40-over par (904). UK continued to claw back Wednesday and climbed an additional two spots in the final round with an 11-over-par 299. Seniors Isabelle Johansson and Grace Rose paced the comeback with a pair of top-25 finishes.
Tournament host and 24th-ranked Miami (Fla.) University won the crown with a score of 2-over par, three strokes clear of No. 16 Oklahoma. Virginia Tech’s Elizabeth Bose won the individual title at 6-under par.
“Our goal was to continue to climb the leaderboard today, and although we are disappointed in our overall finish, the team responded to the challenge and fought their way back up the leaderboard over the last two rounds,” UK head coach Golda Borst said. “We know we can’t put ourselves in this type of position to have a chance to win tournaments so we have to handle the nerves better and start off stronger.”
UK shot back-to-back sub-300 rounds over the final 36 holes at the Biltmore (par 72, 6,150 yards) in Coral Gables, Florida. Every Wildcat playing for the team score either matched or improved upon their first-round score over the final two days.
Johansson notched her team-high-tying third top-20 finish of the season and the 11th of her career by tying for 19th at 8-over par (224). She had a few more bogeys than she’s accustomed to on her scorecard Wednesday but was able to remain in the top 20 with a pair of birdies and a final-round 76.
Rose rolled in three birdies, including two on her final two holes of the day, to tie for 24th at 10-over par. She’s placed in the top 25 of four of her six tournament appearances this season and has had her score counted towards the team total in a team-best 18 of 19 rounds.
Perhaps no one fought back as valiantly as junior Leonie Bettel over the last two days. After an uncharacteristic 80 on the first day, Bettel climbed 30 spots in the second and third rounds with a 74 Tuesday and a 1-over-par 73. It was her best back-to-back rounds since the Landfall Tradition to end the fall season. Bettel, who had four birdies Wednesday, finished in a tie for 32nd at 11-over par.
Freshman Sarah Fite concluded her first tournament in the team scoring with a 3-over-par 75 to finish at 14-over par overall. Fite has appeared in three previous events as an individual, but her 54-hole score of 230 is the best of her your career so far.
Sophomore Josephine Chang tied for 56th place at 18-over par overall.
Junior Claire Carlin, playing as an individual, got off to a fast start Monday but couldn’t sustain it over the final two rounds. She closed the week in a tie for 47th at 16-over par.
The heart of Kentucky’s schedule will continue in two weeks at the Clover Cup at the Longbow Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona. UK put together one of its best performances of the season last year at the Clover Cup with a fifth-place showing.
The Clover Cup will mark the second of three tournaments over a month’s span before the Southeastern Conference Championship starts April 20.
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