Wildcats Aim for Focus and Consistency as Postseason Begins
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 22 ranked Kentucky Women’s Golf team will begin its postseason run in Birmingham at the SEC Championships held at the Greystone Golf and Country Club.
The Championships will be held Wednesday through Sunday on the Legacy Course (par 72, 6,331 yards) with a cut taking place after the third round of stroke play. Following the cut, the remaining eight teams will battle through two rounds of match play to determine the 2022 conference champion.
“We’re excited for the tournament to start tomorrow,” said Head Coach Golda Borst. “It’s been a good two weeks since Clemson and everyone has had some time to work on their games.”
Kentucky will tee off for the first round of 18 at 8 a.m. Wednesday with Marissa Wenzler stepping up to the tee box first. The Cats will be paired with the reigning champions, Auburn, and Ole Miss.
“The course is in good shape,” stated Borst. “The greens are firmer than they have been in the past which I think suites our team as we saw that in our last tournament.”
UK has seen a successful season with top-10 finishes at seven different tournaments throughout the fall and spring schedules. The best finish overall was at the UCF Challenge in February where the Wildcats finished second (-31).
The lineup for this week’s championships will feature Jensen Castle, Rikke Svejgård Nielsen, Laney Frye, María Villanueva Aperribay, and Wenzler.
The five Wildcats last competed together at the Clemson Invitational which was the final tournament of the season schedule. UK finished third (+31) with Svejgård Nielsen leading the way on the individual leaderboard T7 (+6).
The SEC Championships will be available to follow via live stats courtesy of GolfStat, which fans can access here. The final round on Sunday will be broadcasted on SEC Network at 8:30 a.m. for the last battle before the 2022 champion is crowned.
Last year, Kentucky was 1-over-par 865 for the week, crushing their previous SEC Championship-low mark of 885 in 2017, but UK finished in 12th place, four spots back of the cut.
“We’ve got an experienced group with us,” expressed Borst. “If we can manage our expectations and emotions then the sky is the limit for this team.”
This year’s tournament marks the ninth consecutive year for the SEC Championship to be contested in at the Greystone Golf and Country Club. The SEC has conducted its annual championship at Greystone since 2013 (Founder’s Course 2013-14, 2015-21).
BIRDIES FOR TORNADO RELIEF FUNDRAISER
Collectively, UK Women’s Golf has tallied 183 birdies since announcing 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 Kentucky Women’s Golf, follow the team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
