Jensen Castle Tied for Second Place, Wildcats in Third Place after Florida State Match Up First Round
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The University of Kentucky women’s golf team put a pin in the Florida State Match Up at Seminole Legacy (par 72, 6,225 yards), turning in an 892 (+4) for third place after the first round. Meanwhile, Jensen Castle is in a quest for her second medalist honor of the season, producing a 70 (-2) for a share of second place.
The senior from West Columbia, South Carolina, is in pursuit of her fifth straight finish inside the top 10, a stretch that includes her individual title won at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational last October.
Castle began the Florida State Match Up first round on No. 10, going -1 through her first four holes. She then went bogey-par-bogey on hole Nos. 14-16, settling for a +1 on the back nine. The senior made the turn with a fresh perspective, going birdie-par-birdie-par-par-birdie on hole Nos. 1-6. She then suffered her second bogey of the first round on the par-4 No. 7 but recovered with a birdie on the par-4 No. 9, going -3 on the front nine.
This is the 12th time this season that she has recorded a round of par-or-better, which ties her personal record and is just two rounds of par-or-better from tying teammate Laney Frye’s school record 14. Her 2-under-par performance in the first round is just two shots off leader Lottie Woad of the Seminoles.
Castle isn’t the only Wildcat in pursuit of a top-10 finish this weekend.
María Villanueva Aperribay turned in a 73 Friday, which marks her best round in her last seven rounds this spring. The senior from San Sebastián, Spain, had an answer for every blemish on the golf course, scoring five bogeys and four birdies in the first round. It marked the ninth instance this season she has scored a 73-or-better in 2022-23, while her performance gives her a share of 10th place.
The Wildcat is in the hunt for her first top-10 finish in two years, with her best finish this season coming on a tie for 16th place at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational last October.
Marissa Wenzler produced a 73 in the first round, too, while she is in the hunt for her first top-10 finish in three years. The senior came back from a +2 start though her first four holes at the Florida State Match Up, after recording a double on the par-13 No. 3. She finished up +2 on the back nine, but she rallied for a -1 on the front nine thanks to a pair of birdies and one bogey.
The Dayton, Ohio, native came close to a top-10 finish already this season, finding 11th place on a career-best -8 at the Illini Women’s Invitational last October.
Both Villanueva Aperribay and Wenzler are tied for 10th place, just five shots off the lead, with 36 holes to go.
Ivy Shepherd, a graduate from Peachtree City, Georgia, put together five bogeys and a birdie for a 4-over-par 76 Friday. She is in a tie for 27th place. Competing in the lineup for just the second time this season and the third time of her career, Marta López Echevarría recorded a 10-over-par 82 to find a share of 53rd place.
The Wildcats are in third place, just one shot off of second place (Tulane, +3) and just five shots off of first place (No. 12 Florida State, -1). The Cats will tee off in the second round Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. ET, paired with Florida State and Oklahoma.
Scorecard
T2 Jensen Castle 70 (-2)
T10 María Villanueva Aperribay 73 (+1)
T10 Marissa Wenzler 73 (+1)
T27 Ivy Shepherd 76 (+4)
T53 Marta López Echevarría 82 (+10)
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