UK Women’s Golf Claws Back to Third Place at Cardinal Cup
SIMPSONVILLE, Ky. – For the first time this season, the Kentucky women’s golf team got off to a slow start. How the Wildcats handled it Friday in the first round of the Cardinal Cup was another check off the list when grading this team’s ascent.
After falling all the way down to 16th place in the 17-team field midway through the round, UK grinded its way through the second half of the day, rolled in some birdies on its second nine, and climbed back into contention and just four shots behind first-round leader Campbell at the University of Louisville Golf Club (par 72, 6,261 yards) in Simpsonville, Kentucky.
Kentucky – ranked No. 20 in the first Golfstat ratings of the season – fired a tournament-opening score of 8-over par (296) after the rough beginning. After recording just two birdies as a team on the back nine, UK’s first nine of the day, the Wildcats’ quintet dropped 11 of them on the frontside to make their climb up the leaderboard.
Senior Sarah Shipley and freshman Jensen Castle led the charge. Shipley carded a first-round 71, her fourth under-par round this season, while Castle got back to even par for the day with four birdies on her second nine. The duo is tied for third and seventh, respectively.
Louisville’s Mairead Martin leads the 95-player field at 4-under par.
“We got off to a rough start today and we could have easily let the round get away from us,” UK head coach Golda Borst said. “However, they kept fighting and we were able to get some shots back on our back nine. I’m proud of their effort today after how we got started and we look forward to getting back on the course tomorrow.”
Play resumes Friday at 9 a.m. Live scoring will continue to be available at GolfStat.com and fans in the area are encouraged attend. Weather conditions are expected to remain mostly sunny with highs in the low 70s for the rest of the weekend.
UK is off to one of the best starts in school history. The Wildcats won their first two tournaments at the Minnesota Invitational and the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational and held a one-shot lead last week heading into the final round of the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational, which features one of the top fields in the country. The win would have marked the first three-tournament winning streak in school history.
Although the Wildcats couldn’t close the deal last weekend, they gained confidence against some of the nation’s best teams and used that Friday when things weren’t going well early in the round.
The much more difficult back nine, where Kentucky started its round, offered a lot of bogeys but few birdie opportunities.
Shipley was the one Wildcats who dipped into red numbers on the first nine with eight pars and a birdie. She kept the momentum going in the afternoon with an even-par score on her second nine to finish at 1-under par for the day.
The senior from Hastings, Michigan, who entered this weekend with a 72.6 stroke average this season, has some familiarity with the U of L Golf Club. She tied for 21st in the 2016 tournament.
Castle, who continues to build on a sensational start to her career, captured the heart of Friday’s turnaround. After going out in 3-over par, she came back with a vengeance on the second nine with four birdies and just one bogey. Of her nine rounds in college so far, seven have been par or better for the highest-rated signee in school history.
Fellow freshman Marissa Wenzler had a similar bounce-back day. At 3-over par heading into the second half of her round, she got back to 2-over par and into a tie for 21st with two birdies on her second nine.
If the Wildcats need more reasons for optimism, they can look at junior Rikke Svejgård Nielsen and sophomore Casey Ott. They’re both tied for 63rd place through the first round with a pair of first-round 79s, but their 2019-20 seasons indicate those scores will likely be aberrations. Ott finished in the top 10 in her first three tournaments this season and five of her last eight collegiate appearances, and Svejgård Nielsen has six top-20 showings in just 12 collegiate tournaments.
Junior Sarah Fite is also in action this weekend for individual competition. Building on a promising start to her 2019-20 season, she’s tied for 40th at 5-over par (77).
The Wildcats are seeking their third tournament win of the season. The most in a single season is four, set during the 1990-91 season.
Kentucky has appeared in the Cardinal Cup in five of the previous 15 years, including recent trips in 2016 and 2017. The Wildcats placed third in 2016.
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.
