Laney Frye Tied for Fourth Place after UCF Challenge Second Round
ORLANDO, Fla. – All-American Laney Frye went 6-under through her final seven holes Sunday, collecting seven birdies and an eagle in the second round at the UCF Challenge. The senior from Nicholasville, Kentucky, climbed 15 spots on the individual leader for a share of fourth place ahead of the final round at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Orlando, Florida.
The University of Kentucky women’s golf team battled through the elements to record a 5-over as a team in the second round. The Wildcats are 3-over-par 579 through 36 holes, falling to ninth place, with 18 holes to go.
The field of 18 teams and 96 players had to be adaptive this weekend because of weather in the area.
The UCF Challenge, which was originally slated for Sunday through Tuesday, was supposed to begin today and then it was supposed to not be played today because of incoming weather. However, tournament officials decided last night that the anticipated weather was moving north, and the golf course was suitable for competition.
The schedule changes seemed to have no affect on Frye, a senior from Nicholasville, Kentucky, who jumped out to lead the Blue and White.
Despite suffering a double on the par-3 No. 8 and a bogey on the par-3 No. 11, the lone blemishes on her scorecard, she also recorded seven birdies and an eagle on the par-5 No. 16. In fact, four of the birdies and the eagle came in her final seven holes of the second round.
The Wildcat recorded a 6-under-par 66 on Sunday, which marked her ninth round of par-or-better this fall, through 13 rounds total, as she also added to her school-record 56 rounds of par-or-better in her career. Frye, whose best finish at the UCF Challenge is T9 in 2023, has a 6-under-par 138 tournament total and is sitting in a tie for fourth place, just three shots off the lead.
Jensen Castle kept her score low through the elements, too, going 2-under Sunday. The graduate student got off to a slower start, recording a pair of bogeys, one double and a birdie on the front nine. Making the turn 3-over, she then found eight pars and a birdie on the back nine. Castle is even par for the tournament, sitting in a tie for 24th place ahead of the final round.
Cathryn Brown, a freshman from Eddyville, Kentucky, who is competing in the first tournament of her college career, paired her 2-under in the first round with a 4-over in the second round. She birdied the par-5 No. 16, which was sandwiched in between five bogeys scattered throughout the round. She has a 2-over-par 146 tournament total for a share of 38th place.
Marta López Echevarría birdied her last hole of the second round, the par-4 No. 1, to turn in a 5-over on Sunday. The junior is 7-over for the tournament and is T66. Marissa Wenzler went 7-over on Sunday, as the graduate student has a 10-over-par 154 for a share of 83rd place.
North Carolina remains the leader in the tournament, going 8-under in the second round for 17-under through 36 holes. The Tar Heels have an eight-shot advantage over second place College of Charleston.
Scorecard
T4 Laney Frye 72, 66 … 138 (-6)
T24 Jensen Castle 70, 74 … 144 (E)
T38 Cathryn Brown 70, 76 … 146 (+2)
T66 Marta López Echevarría 74, 77 … 151 (+7)
T83 Marissa Wenzler 75, 79 … 154 (+10)
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