UK Women’s Golf Finishes 13th in Strong Field at Bryan National Collegiate
BROWNS SUMMIT, N.C. – Junior Sarah Shipley posted UK’s best individual score of the Bryan National Collegiate in the final round, but it wasn’t enough to boost the University of Kentucky women’s golf team up the leaderboard as the Wildcats recorded a 13th-place finish on a tournament-total 48-over-par 912.
Traditionally one of the toughest tournaments on UK’s schedule, six teams in the 17-team field are ranked in GolfStat’s Top 50. The best-ranked team in the field and tournament host, No. 12 Wake Forest, led throughout the tournament. Winning the tournament championship in dominating fashion, Wake Forest finished at 34-under par (830), 32 shots ahead of second-place No. 36 North Carolina.
“Disappointing week for the Cats here in North Carolina,” said assistant coach Brian May, filling in for head coach Golda Borst, who had her second child Thursday night. “We struggled to execute shots and then couldn’t stay mentally tough through some difficult holes. Individually, I saw some good things out of each player, but that was not enough to compete at this golf course. We have a week at home to get our minds and our games right to compete at Clemson. Looking forward to getting back to Lexington to get to work.”
Improving by the day, Shipley relied on her upperclassman experience to card a 1-over-par 73 in the final round of the Bryan National Collegiate to chart the team’s best round of the weekend. It marked her second-best final-round score of the season as she finished in 33rd place, UK’s best individual placement of the tournament.
In what looked to be a promising round from the start, sophomore Rikke Svejgård Nielsen rallied her best 18-hole score of the tournament on Sunday, posting a 3-over-par 75. In her opening hole, the par-3 No. 12, Nielsen fired a birdie to set the pace through her first nine holes. The sophomore rallied back-to-back birdies on Nos. 15 and 16, logging a 3-under-par 33 through her front nine. However, the sophomore couldn’t match the same success in her following nine holes, allowing four bogeys and a double bogey to land a 76th-place finish.
Senior Leonie Bettel played consistent golf through the 54 holes, logging a 3-over-par 75 in the final round to finish tied for 37th. Team captain and senior Claire Carlin, who led UK after the first day on a 2-over-par 74, recorded a 6-over-par 78 on Sunday to finish tied for 67th. Freshman Casey Ott had an uncharacteristic set of rounds at the Bryan National Collegiate but matched her tournament best on a 6-over-par 78 final-round mark, collecting five pars and two birdies in the final stretch. The Arkansas native finished 91st in the individual standings.
The Bryan Park Champions Course, site of the 2010 Public Links Championship, played as a par 72 at 6,305 yards. The Kentucky women’s golf team has competed in the Bryan National Collegiate four times in its last five seasons, boasting above-average success among annual elite fields. In its best showing three seasons ago, UK finished tied for fifth place in 2016.
Just one tournament remains on the schedule before UK enters the Southeastern Conference Championship. In its next appearance, the program will compete in the Clemson Invitational at Lake Keowee in Sunset, South Carolina, on April 7-9.
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