UK Women’s Golf Remains in Sixth Place Heading into Ally Finale

WEST POINT, Miss. – The Kentucky women’s golf team’s streak of multiple players posting under-par rounds came to an end at seven straight on Tuesday at The Ally.
 
Sophomore Laney Frye was the lone Wildcat with an under-par score, snapping an impressive streak that went back to the second tournament of the fall season. A few missteps late and a handful of uncharacteristic high numbers ended the run and spoiled what was shaping up early in the day to be another solid round.
 
Even so, on a day in which some of the Wildcats struggled with their ball striking, UK held its ground and remains in a tie for sixth place after a 3-over-par 291 in the second of three rounds at Old Waverly Golf Club (par 72, 6,280 yards) in West Point, Mississippi. The Wildcats are tied with No. 16 Texas A&M at 4-over par overall and are only eight shots back of third place.
 
With Frye’s 2-under-par 70 on Tuesday, she joined fifth-year senior Rikke Svejgård Nielsen in the top 15 at 1-under par overall. They are tied for 13th place.
 
“I’m going to sound like a broken record here, but we truly are so close to putting together a great round of golf,” UK head coach Golda Borst said. “This team is playing with heart. Some of them are really struggling with their ball striking, but they are finding ways to get the ball in the hole. We know what we are capable of and if we can get some things to go our way and get some momentum going, then watch out. We’re going to go out and play hard tomorrow and give it all we’ve got.”
 
No. 13 Alabama held on to its lead. At 13-under par, the Crimson Tide is four shots clear of No. 7 Florida. Alabama’s Benedetta Moresco is still in front of the 72-player field with a five-shot lead at 15-under par.
 
The final round of The Ally – and Kentucky’s final round of the four-tournament fall season – begins Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET with a shotgun start. Live scoring will be available at Golfstat.com.
 
Frye posted her team-high-tying sixth round of par or better with a 70 in the second round. Her scorecard was rather clean with a near bogey-free round.
 
The sophomore from Nicholasville, Kentucky, went out in 35 with eight pars and a birdie and matched it on the back nine with six pars, two birdies and a bogey. She’s seeking her second top-10 showing of the season.
 
Svejgård Nielsen had a similarly smooth round. The fifth-year senior carded identical 36s on each nine with seven pars, a birdie and a bogey on each nine.
 
After a one-tournament absence, Svejgård Nielsen is eyeing her best finish of the fall.
 
Junior Marissa Wenzler rebounded from a tournament-opening 76 with a 1-over-par 73 in the second round. She rolled in a team-high four birdies on Tuesday, including two over the first three holes.
 
Wenzler was 1-under par on the day heading into No. 14 but bogeyed two of the final five holes. At 5-over par overall, she is tied for 43rd.
 
For just the second time in her last eight collegiate rounds, junior Jensen Castle failed to record a round of par or better. It was a rare birdie-less day for the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion. Despite the lack of red numbers, Castle was hanging in the top 20 for the first half of the day with eight straight pars until a double bogey on No. 9. She got back on track with six more consecutive parts but bogeyed two of the final three holes.
 
At 3-over par overall after a 71 on Monday, Castle is tied for 28th.
 
The normally consistent María Villanueva Aperribay couldn’t overcome a handful of high numbers. She double bogeyed three holes and penciled in a triple on another and couldn’t offset them with any birdies. With an 81, she has fallen to a tie for 60th at 11-over par.
 
However, Villanueva Aperribay has shown resiliency before. Last season, after shooting an 83 in the second round of the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic, the Spaniard bounced back with three scores of 69 over her next six rounds.
 
Playing as an individual, freshman Marta López Echevarría is in 67th place at 16-over par overall. She recorded an 80 for the second consecutive day.
 
This week’s field features 12 teams, 11 of which are from the Southeastern Conference and five of which are ranked in the top 15 of the first Golfstat rankings of the season. UK is ahead of one of them, third-ranked Arkansas, by 10 six shots.
 
Old Waverly Golf Club was founded in 1988 and has since become one of the most highly regarded private courses in the country thanks to its stunning backdrops and scenery. The course was designed by the award-winning duo of Bob Cupp and Jerry Pate, the ladder of which is a former U.S. Open Champion. This club is regularly seen in Golfweek’s Top 100 and Golf Digest’s Top 100 and was the former site of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in 2019.
 
This is Kentucky’s second straight appearance in The Ally. UK finished 12th a season ago.
 
It also marks the Wildcats’ final tournament of the 2021 fall season. Kentucky is coming off back-to-back top-five finishes for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
 
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.