UK Concludes Fall Season in Sixth Place out of 11 Teams at the Charles Schwab
FORT WORTH, Texas – The University of Kentucky women’s golf’s young lineup hung tough in a ranked field at the Charles Schwab Women’s Collegiate Invitational after the final round Tuesday, finishing ahead of three teams ranked in the top 50 in the nation and behind four teams ranked in the top 25 in the nation.
The Wildcats, who went 10-over as a team in the final round, put together a 20-over-par 872 tournament total to finish in sixth place out of 11 teams at Ridglea Country Club (par 71, 6,298 yards) in Fort Worth, Texas. The Cats were just three shots off the top five and eight shots out of the top three in the final standings.
No. 15 Wake Forest finished in first place at 5-over, while No. 19 Texas A&M finished in second place (+7) and SMU came in third place (+12).
Three players hovered even-par throughout the event, all finishing in the top 13 in a loaded individual field. Two of those three players are freshmen, including Elin Pudas Remler (12th, +2) and Anastasia Hekkonen (T13, +4).
Not a freshman, though, senior Marta López Echevarría, managed to never get too high or too low throughout the event, coming out of the fall finale with a team-best, career-best, even-par 213 to finish T6.
UK’s lone senior came into the day with an even-par 142, then followed that up with an even-par 72 in her final round. She overcame every bogey with a birdie Tuesday, until she made an eagle on the par-4 No. 14 that would give her a 2-under and look inside the top five on the individual leaderboard. However, a pair of bogeys down the stretch on Nos. 15 and 17 put her right back at even-par for the round and the tournament.
The Wildcat has finished in the top 20 in all three of her appearances this season, which included two spots in the top 10. She also set her top-two, 54-hole tournament totals in her college career this fall, with her even-par today and her 1-over in the season opener at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational in September.
Elin Pudas Remler, who got off to a hot start at the event on a 4-under in the first round, matched her 74 in the second round with a 74 in the final round. She birdied her first hole in the final round – a hole that she bogeyed and pared earlier in the week – the par-5 No. 1. She came out of the front nine even-par, then went 3-over on the back nine Tuesday.
The freshman only went 2-over for the event, earning solo 12th place. She has finished inside the top 12 in three of her four tournaments this season.
Competing in the first lineup of her college career, Anastasia Hekkonen strung together a 73, 70 and 74 at the Charles Schwab, recording a 4-over-par 217 for a share of 13th place in the 60-person field.
Cathryn Brown earned her best score of the event in the final round on a 4-over-par 75 on Tuesday. Her round got better as the day went on, finding two birdies down the stretch that she had pared the previous two days on Nos. 14 and 18. Brown, a sophomore from Eddyville, Kentucky, assembled a 14-over-par 227 for a share of 44th place at the fall finale.
Brooke Oberparleiter earned a 9-over-par 80 in the final round, putting together a 29-over for the event and a share of 59th place.
Next up for UK, the team will play Indiana and Louisville in a tune-up, tri-match at Shadow Wood Country Club in Naples, Florida, on Jan. 21, before beginning the tournament schedule at the Paradise Invitational in early February.
Scorecard
T6 Marta López Echevarría 72, 70, 71 … 213 (E)
12 Elin Pudas Remler 67, 74, 74 … 215 (+2)
T13 Anastasia Hekkonen 73, 70, 74 … 217 (+4)
T44 Cathryn Brown 76, 76, 75 … 227 (+14)
T59 Brooke Oberparleiter 83, 79, 80 … 242 (+29)
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