Shipley Leads UK Women’s Golf on Day One of SEC Championship
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Crazy shifts in momentum defined the Kentucky women’s golf team’s first day at the Southeastern Conference Championship.
At times the Wildcats took advantage of scoring opportunities during the first round, but at others the unforgiving Legacy Course at the Greystone Golf & Country Club made UK pay.
Sophomore Sarah Shipley was the lone Wildcat immune to the wild ups and downs Wednesday and played the most consistent round. As a result, she finds herself at the head of the UK pack and in the top 20.
Senior Grace Rose was on the positive end of a wild first round. After a rough start on the back nine with six bogeys in her first eight holes, Rose rallied to get back to 4-over par for her round and move into the top 30.
Rose was a prime example of the potential UK has at this week’s SEC Championship but the challenge the course and the competition will provide this week at the league’s annual tournament. With Shipley and Rose leading the way, UK is in 10th place at 21-over par after the first of three stroke-play rounds.
The Wildcats will try to make a move Thursday in its quest to make it to the weekend. Under a new format this season, the top eight teams from 54 holes of stroke play will advance to the weekend for match play. The quarterfinals and semifinals will take place Saturday with the championship match scheduled for Sunday. The format reflects the NCAA Championships format.
UK was in the top eight for much of the day before some late missteps in the round.
“The golf course was playing tough today for sure,” UK head coach Golda Borst said. “I think our girls really fought hard throughout the round. We knew we were going to have some hiccups here and there – that’s golf – but the girls fought.”
Second-round action gets underway Thursday at 9 a.m. ET. The Wildcats will tee off at 9:20 a.m. ET. Live scoring will continue to be available at Golfstat.com.
No. 2 Alabama leads one of the strongest fields in all of golf at 2-under par. Alabama, with three players in the top 10, is the only team in the field in red numbers. That’s a testament to the Legacy Course’ might with three teams ranked in the top 10, six in the top 25 and 10 in the top 50.
UK enters the week ranked No. 62 in the latest Golfstat rankings. Hoping to make a strong case for an NCAA regional at-large berth, the Wildcats are looking for a strong performance this week to make NCAA postseason play for the seventh time in Borst’s eight seasons at UK.
“We learned a lot today,” Borst said. “As I told the girls, every round that you play on a golf course you’ve got to learn. You’ve got to know where to place the ball. Hole locations will be different tomorrow so we’ll go through those tonight and see where we need to play some to give us some opportunities, but it’s just about staying tough and keep grinding. We have to stay tough out here and we’ve got to make more birides.”
The aforementioned Shipley and Rose paced Kentucky in the first round. Shipley cruised for most of the day with 13 pars, a birdie and four bogeys. She carded a 38 on her first nine and followed with a 37 in the afternoon. At 3-over par, she’s in a tie for 18th.
“Sarah Shipley was solid all day,” Borst said. “She’s really coming into her own here and leading our team today. I’m proud of her.”
Rose’s round was headed in the wrong direction after a tough start, but she rallied on her second nine of the day with a 1-under-par 35 on the front nine. The Nicholasville, Kentucky, native eagled the par-4 seventh hole when she holed out from 70 yards. She’s tied for 25th at 4-over par.
“I’m really proud of her,” Borst said. “She was a little nervous this morning and got off to a rough start, but I’m really proud of her effort finishing 1-under par over the last nine holes, making eagle, holing out, chipping in for birdie and things like that.”
Senior Isabelle Johansson is one of the most decorated golfers in school history but has never finished higher than 47th in the SEC Championship. In her final appearance, Johansson posted three birdies but was foiled by a triple bogey and four other bogeys. With a tournament-opening 78, she’s tied for 38th.
Junior Leonie Bettel, who headed into the week playing the best golf of her career with back-to-back top-10 tournament finishes, picked up where she left off over the last month with a 1-under-par 35 on her opening nine, including an eagle on the par-5 18th.
However, Bettel was a victim of one of those crazy shifts in momentum when she played her next five holes at 9-over par. She’s tied for 52nd at 8-over par. If Bettel can forget that stretch and play like she did the other 13 holes, she’ll almost certainly move up the leaderboard and take the Wildcats with her.
Redshirt senior Ale Walker, who is playing in her first SEC Championship since she was a freshman, is tied for 60th at 9-over par.
The Legacy Course is playing at 6,253 yards, a par 72. Carved naturally from a visually dramatic landscape of placid lakes, meandering streams and the undulation of Alabama’s Appalachian foothills, the Legacy Course was designed by world-famous architect Rees Jones. 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. UK’s 885 in last year’s tournament was its best 54-hole score in the event’s history.
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.
