Wildcats Finish in Top Half of the Field to Conclude Regular Season at Clemson Invitational
SUNSET, S.C. – The University of Kentucky women’s golf team wrapped up its regular season at the Clemson Invitational, recording an 8-over for the event and finishing in seventh place out of the 16 teams. Four Wildcats finished in the top half of the field, with upperclassmen Laney Frye and Marissa Wenzler pacing the lineup on finishes inside the top 25.
Frye, a senior from Nicholasville, Kentucky, had the lowest score of the lineup Sunday, forming a 1-under (71). Her four birdies and three bogeys helped her tie for her best score of the event, while it also marked her 13th round of par-or-better in 2023-24. She turned in a 2-over (218) tournament total to tie for 24th place.
She concluded the regular season with six finishes inside the top 25, including all four fall events and three of four spring events.
Four Cats finished in the top half of the field at the Clemson Invitational. 🛠️💪📈#KWG pic.twitter.com/SQyrqdHbny
— Kentucky Women’s Golf (@KentuckyWGolf) March 24, 2024
Wenzler, a graduate student from Dayton, Ohio, shared 24th place with Frye at the Clemson Invitational.
The Wildcat, who paced the lineup in tournament total wire-to-wire, went 6-over (78) in the final round. But that is coming off two straight under-par scores thanks to her first-round 69 and her second-round 71. Wenzler has now concluded the regular season – the last regular season of her college career – with three straight finishes inside the top 25, which is the first time she has accomplished that streak.
Fellow graduate student, Jensen Castle, concluded the Clemson Invitational on a 6-over (77). She collected birdies on hole Nos. 2 and 7, both holes she birdied earlier in the week, but a handful of bogeys, including one double, kept her from making a run up the individual leaderboard. However, Castle finished just 3-over (219) for the event, finding T33.
Like Wenzler, it marked Castle’s final regular-season event in her college career.
From three upperclassmen to the freshman duo, Cathryn Brown went 3-over (75) in the final round and Brooke Oberparleiter went 1-over (73) on Sunday.
Oberparleiter was under par through 17 holes in the final round, thanks to one bogey on the par-5 No. 11 and a pair of birdies on Nos. 5 and 8. The rookie suffered a double on her last hole of the day, though, the par-3 No. 7, a hole that she has battled with all weekend. Despite the blemish, her 1-over (73) marked her best performance since her college debut at the Cougar Classic in September 2023.
Brown assembled a 5-over (221) to finish tied for 40th place, while Oberparleiter put together a 12-over (228) to finish in 72nd place.
“It’s incredibly important for every player to play with a purpose in our tournaments,” said head coach Golda Borst. “We may be an individual sport but at the end of the day, you’re wearing Kentucky across your chest and every shot counts. All of our players can compete at a high level, and the score today may not have shown it, but we’re heading in a really good direction statistically.”
Kentucky, who went 8-over (296) in the final round and 7-over (871) overall at the event, finished just two shots off the top five and 10 shots outside the top three. Vanderbilt led the event wire-to-wire on a 12-under (852) tournament total.
“It always stings to finish a tournament poorly and our players are disappointed, but we know what they need to clean up, individually, so that is what we will focus on and prepare for ahead of the SEC Championship.”
The Wildcats will compete in the Southeastern Conference Championship from April 11-16 in Bellair, Florida, before their hopeful NCAA postseason run.
Scorecard
T24 Laney Frye 76, 71, 71 … 218 (+2)
T24 Marissa Wenzler 69, 71, 78 … 218 (+2)
T33 Jensen Castle 69, 73, 77 … 219 (+3)
T40 Cathryn Brown 76, 70, 75 … 221 (+5)
72 Brooke Oberparleiter 79, 76, 73 … 228 (+12)
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.
