Bettel’s College Career Comes to an End at NCAA Auburn Regional
OPELIKA, Ala. – Leonie Bettel’s decorated college career came to an end Wednesday at the NCAA Auburn Regional.
The Kentucky women’s golf senior tied for 67th place with a 54-hole, three-round score of 229 (13-over par) as an individual qualifier in one of the four NCAA Championships regions. Only the low three individuals who are not on the advancing six teams from each of the four NCAA regional sites move on to the NCAA Championships.
Bettel fell short of that Wednesday with a tournament-ending 75 but she would have needed a record-setting score on the final day to continue her career. The final qualifier from the NCAA Auburn Regional, Angelica Moresco from Alabama, ended up at 1-under par for the tournament. That meant Bettel, who entered the day at 10-over par after an 83 in the opening round and a 71 Tuesday, would have had to shoot a 61 in the final round to even force a playoff.
“Leo’s score doesn’t reflect how well she played today; she was very steady all day,” UK head coach Golda Borst said. “She hit the ball well and putted well; the putts just didn’t want to fall and she had just one swing that got her in trouble on the back nine. Despite that, she recovered right away and played her last five holes 1-under.
“I know this finish wasn’t what she wanted for the week, but golf is a funny game and I’m proud of her for bouncing back after that first day.”
The opening-round hurdle ultimately proved to be too big to overcome but Bettel’s week at the Saugahatchee Country Club (par 72, 6,371 yards) in Opelika, Alabama, capped one of the best careers in Kentucky women’s golf history.
With her season now complete, she officially set a new mark for the best single-season stroke average in school history. With a 73.16 average over 32 rounds in 2018-19, she edged Isabelle Johansson’s previous mark of 73.42 set during 2016-17 season.
Bettel also set the single-season school record with 14 rounds of par or better, which included six rounds in the 60s. One of those was a 65 – one stroke off the school record – in the final round of her Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship, one of three indivudal championships this season for Bettel. She also won the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational, UK’s home tournament, in the fall, and the Clover Cup in the spring. At the Bettie Lou, she shot a 205 (11-under par), the 54-hole school record.
Her three championships are not only the second most in single-season school history, they’re tied for the second most in a career. Kate Rogerson won four tournaments from 1985-88.
“I’m so proud of Leo and for the way she has represented the Big Blue Nation over the last two years,” Borst said. “She really embraced being a Wildcat and I’m so happy that she broke a lot of the records along the way. Her impact on this program will be felt for a long time and she has truly raised the bar for our program.”
In just this season alone, Bettel collected five top-10 finishes with two additional top-20 showings. She was an ANNIKA Award (national player of the year) midseason candidate and won Southeastern Conference Women’s Golfer of the Week honors on March 20, just the fourth player in school history to do so.
This week’s appearance in the NCAA postseason was the third of Bettel’s career and first at Kentucky. She transferred from NC State after her sophomore season and took her game to new heights in Lexington.
Bettel will end her career with a 74.4 career stroke average, three championships, nine top-10 finishes and 13 top-20 showings. All three medalist honors occurred at UK, as did seven of the top-10 finishes and 11 of the top-20 showings.
The Austria native will continue her education at UK and is scheduled to graduate in December with a degree in civil engineering.
The end of Bettel’s season also marks the end of the 2018-19 season for the Wildcats. Although the Wildcats were unable to qualify for NCAA Regionals as a team – which UK has done in six of Borst’s nine seasons – Kentucky continued to elevate its play in a rapidly improving sport nationwide.
UK won the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational in the fall, its first team championship since 2013, and placed in the top five in four tournaments. In addition to Bettel’s three titles, sophomore Rikke Svejgård Nielsen won the MSU Greenbrier Invitational and freshman Casey Ott brought home Battle of the Bluegrass individual medalist honors.
Kentucky individuals posted 11 total top-10 finishes with 19 top-20 showings. The Wildcats’ 298.14 team average per 18 holes is the third best in school history, just mere fractions from tying the school’s second-best mark.
UK will also bid farewell to senior Claire Carlin but will bring back six veterans in current juniors Sarah Shipley and Josephine Chang, current sophomores Svejgård Nielsen and Sarah Fite, and current freshman Casey Ott and Ryan Bender. UK will also welcome the best signing class in school history with four newcomers: Jensen Castle, Janika Rüttimann, Marissa Wenzler and Kelsey Wylie.
“This season had its up and downs and we certainly wanted it to end differently than it did,” Borst said. “We had moments of greatness and we will work to build on those for next fall. In the meantime, we will use this year as motivation to get ready for September. We have four new players coming in the fall and I am excited to see the impact that they will have on our program.”
Vanderbilt, Florida State, Duke, Virginia, Auburn and Tennessee (three SEC teams) were the six teams from the Auburn Regional to advance on to the NCAA Championships. Moresco, Linette Holmslykke (Murray State) and Virunpat Olankitkunchai (Maryland) qualified as individuals.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s golf team, follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
