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Jensen Castle Finds a Way, Makes the Cut at Augusta National Women’s Amateur

Jensen Castle Finds a Way, Makes the Cut at Augusta National Women’s Amateur

AUGUSTA, Ga. – University of Kentucky women’s golfer Jensen Castle punched in an eight-foot birdie putt on No. 18 at Champions Retreat Golf Club on Thursday afternoon to make the cut at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur for the second straight year. The Wildcat will advance to the final round at Augusta National Golf Club on Saturday.

The second round was anything but calm for the senior, who turned in a 4-over-par 76.

Following an hour delay off the tee because of fog, Castle left a par putt short on the par-4 No. 1. She bounced back on her second hole, thanks to a 10-footer for birdie. It helped her get back to even par for the round and 2-under for the tournament.

The West Columbia, South Carolina, native tapped in a pair of pars over her next two holes, before suffering her first double of the tournament on the par-4 No. 5. The rough patch didn’t end there though, as the Cat carded a couple more bogeys over her next three holes. By this time, she was 4-over on the round and 2-over on the tournament. She fell back to a share of 21st place with just one hole remaining before making the turn.

Feeling the pressure, Castle boasted back-to-back birdies on hole Nos. 9 and 10 to find the top 10 of the individual leaderboard once again. Her good fortune continued, as the senior saved par with another 10-footer on the par-4 No. 12.

Her round took another turn after that though, scoring a second double on the par-4 No. 13, before suffering a fourth bogey on the par-4 No. 16. There, she had awkward downhill chip with sand coating the grass. Castle attempted to gain relief, but none was given, as she dropped back to 5-over on the round, 3-over on the tournament, and just one shot outside the cutline.

With a par on the par-3 No. 17, Castle had to make birdie on the par-5 No. 18 to feel comfortable about making the cut. She put her drive a little to the right of the fairway, then her second shot in perfect pitching position center of the green. Her third shot landed just eight feet from the hole, then she willed that in for birdie and to get back inside the cut line.

“Augusta National Women’s Amateur does a great job of displaying the leaderboards in great parts of the golf course, especially coming down the stretch,” Castle said. “So, yeah, I was aware of it on No. 16 … I hit the ball long on No. 18, and I had a great look at it while I was putting. I knew that I was out of it, tied at 32nd, when I had that putt.”

 

In all, Castle put together a 2-over-par 146 in the first and second rounds at Champions Retreat. She is tied for 28th place ahead of the final round, just two shots back of the top 20 and three shots back of the top 10.

The committee will not release tee times for the final round until Friday afternoon.

Laney Frye, a junior at UK, put together back-to-back rounds of 76 in her first appearance at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She formed an 8-over-par 152 in the first and second rounds at Champions Retreat, missing the cut by four shots.

 

All 72 contestants in the international field will receive a free practice round at Augusta National on Friday, regardless of making the cut.

Big Blue Nation will be able to catch highlights from Champions Retreat on Golf Channel’s Live at The Masters all day Friday, while fans can watch the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur on NBC on Saturday from noon-3 p.m. ET.

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.

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