Abigail Sutherland Signs NLI with UK Women’s Golf
LEXINGTON, Ky. – One of the state’s top golfers is staying in the Commonwealth to play at the University of Kentucky.
Abigail Sutherland, out of Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, signed a national letter of intent with the UK women’s golf team last week. She will join the Wildcats beginning with the 2021-22 season.
“We are excited to welcome Abigail to our Kentucky women’s golf family,” UK head coach Golda Borst said. “She has only begun to scratch the surface with her game and her best golf is ahead of her. Abigail is a great student with an incredible work ethic on and off the course. I’m really looking forward to having her on campus soon and having her be a part of our team.”
Borst and assistant coach Brian May search far and wide for future Kentucky Wildcats, but they’ve made a recent priority on keeping Kentucky’s best at the state’s flagship university. Recent examples include fifth-year senior Sarah Fite, redshirt junior Ryan Bender and sophomore Laney Frye.
Sutherland will continue the trend and follow in the footsteps of Fite, Bender and Frye after a successful Kentucky high school golf career.
“I’m so excited to be a part of the BBN,” Sutherland said. “The reason I chose Kentucky is because I love the coaching staff, my teammates and I fell in love with the campus atmosphere at Kentucky. I also really love all the resources they have for athletes at Kentucky. I cannot wait to get there next fall.”
Sutherland, from Glenview, Kentucky, is a two-time All-State selection, earning first-team honors in 2020 and second-team distinction in 2021.
Ranked No. 171 overall in the latest American Junior Golf Association rankings, Sutherland has won three times on the high school level with 10-plus top-10 finishes. She also tied for fourth at the Kentucky Junior Girls PGA Championship, tied for 13th at the AJGA Justin Thomas Invitational and tied for 15th at the AJGA Dana Incorporated Junior Open.
Sacred Heart has placed in the top four in all four of Sutherland’s seasons, including a third-place finish in her latest and final appearance.
Sutherland is a team captain and a stellar student. She was named the 2021 Midway University/KHSAA Girls’ Golf Student-Athlete of the Year and is a four-time National Honors Society Academic All-State pick.
The current Wildcats recently completed their four-tournament fall slate. UK placed in the top five in two of the four events with two individual top-10 showings and five top-20 finishes. Jensen Castle, the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, posted a team-best 71.8 stroke average in the fall followed closely by Frye at 72.9.
Kentucky’s spring season begins Jan. 17 vs. Louisville.
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.
Abigail is going to fit right in at Kentucky ?? pic.twitter.com/YXlqMDuK22
— Kentucky Women’s Golf (@KentuckyWGolf) November 16, 2021
