UK Women’s Golf Finishes Ninth at SEC Championship
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Kentucky women’s golf team took the battle all the way to the final holes, but the Wildcats fell a handful of strokes short from qualifying for match play at the annual Southeastern Conference Championship on Friday.
Missouri, at 43-over par, edged UK by six strokes to clinch the eighth and final spot for the weekend. On the final day of the 54-hole stroke-play portion of the league tournament, UK fired a 303 for a three-day total of 913, 49-over par. The Wildcats got a balanced performance from its veteran lineup but couldn’t shake a determined Tigers squad that went neck and neck with the Wildcats and fired its best score of the week.
“We fell short today unfortunately,” UK head coach Golda Borst said. “We knew it was going to be a battle and we made a few too many mistakes coming down the back nine. Missouri and Auburn played very solid throughout the day and hats off to them for playing well.”
Kentucky entered the day in eighth place, ahead of several teams ranked higher in the Golfstat rankings, thanks to a strong 13-over-par performance on Thursday. Kentucky went out strong on the Legacy Course (par 72, 6,253 yards) with junior Leonie Bettel (35), sophomore Sarah Shipley (36) and Grace Rose (37) combining to go even par on the front nine.
The problem was Missouri came out on fire with four of its five golfers shooting even par or better on the front side.
That put UK in catch-up mode on the back nine, where the Wildcats made up ground on the Tigers on Thursday and moved past Mizzou for the eighth position. Kentucky got within three strokes midway through the back nine and applied pressure down the stretch when Bettel and senior Isabelle Johansson birdied No. 18, but the Tigers countered with a couple of birdies of their own and held off UK.
Missouri will move on to play the top seed, No. 10 South Carolina, in this weekend’s match-play portion. No. 3 Arkansas, No. 2 Alabama, No. 13 Florida, No. 44 Georgia, No. 24 Vanderbilt and No. 20 Auburn will advance as well. The quarterfinals and semifinals will take place Saturday with the championship match scheduled for Sunday at the Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama.
“This one will hurt for a while, especially with three seniors in the lineup,” Borst said. “They have given a lot to our program and they love the Big Blue Nation. Everyone gave it their all this week; it just wasn’t enough.”
Now Kentucky will await its NCAA postseason fate and hope to extend the career of the seniors. The NCAA regional field will be announced Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. on the Golf Channel. Entering the week ranked No. 62, UK is on the bubble as it tries to make its seventh postseason appearance in eight seasons under Borst.
The Wildcats made a valiant effort this week to improve their postseason profile, most notably Shipley. She saved some of her best golf of the season for the final push, carding a 4-over-par 220 for the week. That was one off her 54-hole best, set at the Clover Cup last month.
Shipley posted a 74 in the third round with three birdies. She was even par through 11 holes and finished a tie for 13th place, her second top-20 showing in her last three tournaments.
“Sarah had a very solid tournament,” Borst said. “She really stepped up for us this week and led us on the course. I’m very proud of her. She stayed focused on her process and I’m happy that it all came together for her.”
Bettel rallied from Wednesday’s difficult round with back-to-back days of 75. She really had it going Friday morning at 1-under par on the front nine, but the much tougher back nine tripped her up with two double bogeys. She tied for 39th for the week at 14-over par.
Tied with Bettel was senior Grace Rose. She was applying pressure on Missouri with an even-par score through 12 holes Friday and ended with a 78.
Senior Isabelle Johansson brought her best game of the week into the stroke-play finale with a 76. She played the back nine admirably when the tournament was coming down to the wire, firing a 37 down the stretch with a birdie on No. 18. She tied for 49th.
Redshirt senior Ale Walker placed 67th at 27-over par.
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.
