Kentucky Women’s Golf Primed to Compete at the 2024 SEC Championship
BELLEAIR, Fla. – The University of Kentucky women’s golf team will field one of its most accomplished teams in program history at the Southeastern Conference Women’s Golf Championship on April 12-16, which will be hosted at the Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida, for the first time in championship history.
The golf course, also the site of the annual The ANNIKA driven by Gainbridge at Pelican, will play as a par 70 at 6,287 yards.
The Wildcats will turn in a lineup that features half veterans and half newcomers, including graduate students Jensen Castle and Marissa Wenzler, senior Laney Frye, junior Marta López Echevarría and freshman Cathryn Brown.
While it is Castle’s, Wenzler’s and Frye’s last SEC Championship, it will mark López Echevarría’s and Brown’s first conference championship.
Kentucky will tee off in the first round Friday beginning at 9:10 a.m. ET, paired with Georgia and Mississippi State.
This conference championship brings a lot of anticipation, with three of the most accomplished golfers in program history competing for the crown for the last time.
Frye, a Nicholasville, Kentucky, native, and Castle, a West Columbia, South Carolina, native, own the top-five, single-season scoring averages in program history, while Wenzler, a Dayton, Ohio, native, is eighth on that list.
Frye is pacing the team again this season, boasting a 71.1 scoring average through 23 rounds, which is ranked sixth in the league. Her best finish came in runner-up fashion on a 1-under-par 215 at the NEXUS Collegiate in February. It was one of four finishes inside the top 10 that she recorded in 2023-24.
Last season at the SEC Championship, Frye finished tied for sixth place on a 1-over-par 217. It became her best tournament total and finish in her three appearances at the conference championship.
Castle and Wenzler are both averaging 73.0 scoring averages right now, with Castle playing in 20 rounds and Wenzler competing in 23 rounds this season. They have combined for five finishes inside the top 20 in 2023-24.
Two Wildcats are playing in their first SEC Championship, including Brown and López Echevarría. Both of them have played in four tournaments and 12 rounds this season, with Brown averaging 73.5 shots and López Echevarría turning in 75.7 shots. However, Brown’s 12 rounds are all she has played in her young college career, while López Echevarría has 38 rounds under belt.
All 14 teams will compete in a 54-hole, stroke-play format Friday through Sunday. The top eight teams will advance to match-play quarterfinals Monday morning, then the top four teams will improve to match-play semifinals Monday afternoon. From there, the top two teams will battle for a conference championship Tuesday.
The league will utilize both stroke play and match play in the championship for the sixth year.
Kentucky will look to make its first cut since the inception of the NCAA Championship format, which include the three rounds of stroke play for all teams and then up to three rounds of match play for advancing teams. Last season, UK went 41-over to finish tied for 11th place.
The Wildcats’ best finish at the SEC Championship in the Golda Borst era came in 2013, when they earned a share of fifth place on a 58-over-par 922.
The field can expect sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70s during stroke play.
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.
