Wildcats Finish in Top Five at the “Essence of Arizona Golf”
MESA, Ariz. – Kentucky Women’s Golf program wrapped up the final round of the Clover Cup in Mesa, Ariz. The Wildcats held their own at Longbow Golf Club tying with TCU for fourth place.
Through 54-holes over the three days of play, Kentucky finished the tournament even par. Shooting 286 (-2) on Sunday with 288 on the first day and 290 on the second. The Cats scored a collective 864.
“We did a lot of great things this week and gave ourselves a chance to make a good run today,” said Head Coach Golda Borst. “We wanted to play aggressive and attack the course early. I was really happy with how our team executed. We were doing a good job of taking advantage of the gettable hole locations.”
Showing an impressive performance on the front nine, UK faced some challenges and adversity on the second half of the round.
“Unfortunately, we lost a few shots late in the round, but I am really encouraged by what I’m seeing from our team,” stated Borst. “They battled hard this whole week and when they faced adversity, they stayed calm and focused on the next shot.”
Junior Jensen Castle rose eight spots on the individual leader board to close out the tournament in fifth place. The West Columbia, S.C. native, shot seven-under-par on the third round of play. Her score of 66, combined with day one’s 77 and 73 on day two, resulted in a collective 209.
“Jensen played outstanding today,” exclaimed Borst. “She made that eagle putt on nine which gave her a lot of confidence and the putts kept dropping from there.”
In addition to the eagle on hole nine, Castle began the round with a birdie on hole one. On the back nine of the course, Castle tallied five birdies and two bogeys.
“It’s great to see her get more and more comfortable going low and her teammates are right there with her,” said Borst. “It’s just a matter of time before we see even more low numbers from this group.”
Rikke Svejgård Nielsen finished the tournament tied for 15th shooting a total of 214 (-2) during the Clover Cup. Adding to her day one and two results of 69 and 72, the fifth-year senior shot a 72 on day three. Throughout the 18 holes of play, she equated six birdies on the day.
Just short of a top-20 tournament finish, Marissa Wenzler completed her third round for an overall finish tied for 23rd. Shooting two-over-par on the third day, her 74 added to her first two days of play for a cumulative tournament score of 217 (+1).
Laney Frye finished her battle at the “Essence of Arizona Golf” tied for 45th scoring 224 (+8). María Villanueva Aperribay rose 11 placements to finish out the Clover Cup tied 59th for a collective 230 (+14). Competing on the individual front, Ryan Bender completed the tournament with a 243 (+27) in 87th.
BIRDIES FOR TORNADO RELIEF FUNDRAISER
Collectively, the team recorded 59 birdies throughout the Clover Cup. Kentucky Women’s Golf announced the start of a new fundraiser to aid fellow Kentuckians in the Western region of the state who were devastated by an EF4 tornado in early December of last year. In partnership with the Kentucky Red Cross, the program is asking for monetary donations or pledges. For each birdie made, beginning with the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate and throughout the rest of the 2022 spring season, money will be given to those impacted by the catastrophic disaster.
Those wishing to donate can do so by clicking here.
For the latest on the Kentucky Women’s Golf, follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
