Laney Frye is Two Shots Off the Lead, Kentucky is Tied for 12th at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Laney Frye, an All-America on the University of Kentucky women’s golf team, is tied for seventh place after the first round and in the stacked field at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate. She turned in a 2-under-par 69 at Long Cove Golf Club (par 71, 6,369 yards) on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, on Monday, just two shots off the lead.

The Wildcat began the first round with eight straights pars before at last striking a birdie on her ninth hole the par-4 No. 18. That was the first of three birdies over four holes, going par-birdie-birdie after making the turn on hole Nos. 1-3. During that stretch, she briefly had a share of second place.

She finished out the round with five more pars and her lone blemish – a bogey on the par-4 No. 5.

Frye, a Nicholasville, Kentucky, native, is just two shots behind two players tied at the top in Ingrid Lindblad of LSU and Julia Lopez Ramirez of Mississippi State.

Frye is pacing a Kentucky team that is tied for 12th place, alongside Southeastern Conference foes Georgia and Vanderbilt.

The Wildcats assembled a 6-over-par 290 in the first round, seven strokes behind the top five and 12 strokes behind the leader. Arizona is pacing the elite field, turning in a 6-under-par 278 on Monday. Duke and Northwestern are tied for second place at 3-under, while host South Carolina is in third place at 2-under.

Jensen Castle and Marissa Wenzler, graduate students who are both competing in their final season of college golf, aren’t too far off Frye, as Castle is tied for 21st place on an even par and Wenzler is tied for 38th place on a 1-over.

Castle had an answer for everything, littering four birdies and four bogeys across her scorecard. Wenzler had the calmest round of the lineup Monday, tabbing 15 pars, a bogey each on the front nine and the back nine and a birdie on the par-4 No. 4.

From a pair of veterans to the lone rookie, Cathryn Brown, a freshman competing in the second tournament of her college career, concluded the first round tied for 77th place on a 7-over-par 78. She was 8-over through 17 holes after suffering eight bogeys, but she rallied a birdie on her final hole of the first round the 375-yard, par-4 No. 9.

Marta López Echevarría is tied for 80th place on an 8-over-par 79.

The Darius Rucker Intercollegiate is being broadcast on Golf Channel and Peacock once again in 2024. The broadcast schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, March 5
2:30 – 5:30 p.m. ET – Golf Channel Live Broadcast

Wednesday, March 6
2:30 – 5:30 p.m. ET – Golf Channel Live Broadcast

The Wildcats will tee off in the second round Tuesday beginning at 10:10 a.m. ET, paired with Oregon and Vanderbilt.

Big Blue Nation is encouraged to follow along on Golf Channel, Peacock or live scoring.

Scorecard
T7 Laney Frye 69 (-2)
T21 Jensen Castle 71 (E)
T38 Marissa Wenzler 72 (+1)
T77 Cathryn Brown 78 (+7)
T80 Marta López Echevarría 79 (+8)

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.