Cathryn Brown Earns Career-Best T3 Finish at Spartan Sun Coast Invitational
SARASOTA, Fla. – Cathryn Brown is off to a sensational start to the spring season, following up her T4 finish two weeks ago with a T3 finish at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational on Monday.
The sophomore golfer from Eddyville, Kentucky, turned in rounds of 68, 69 and 75 to assemble a 4-under-par 212 at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational, the second of four tournament this spring, to claim the best finish of her college career. She collected 13 birdies across the 54 holes at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational at Palm Aire Champions Course at the Palm Aire Country Club (par 72, 6,191 yards) in Sarasota, Florida, which tied for the second most among players in the field.
Just two weeks ago at the Paradise Invitational, Brown rallied a 5-under, which marked the second-best tournament total in her time at UK. Well, this week, she continued her impressive stretch thanks to a 4-under, which marked her third-best tournament total in Blue and White.
Meanwhile, the University of Kentucky women’s golf team all took a leap in the last round at the Spartan Sun Coast Invitational, going 2-under as a team on Monday. That’s 13 strokes better than their first round and six strokes better than their second round, both of which they played all in one day yesterday. Altogether, the team assembled a 13-over-par 877 for a share of ninth place at the tournament.
Two Wildcats went under-par as individuals in the final round, including senior Marta López Echevarría (69) and freshman Anastasia Hekkonen (71).
López Echevarría’s 3-under-par 69 in the final round was the second-best, 18-hole output of her college career and just the third round in the 60s in her college career. Her scorecard was nearly blemish-free, recording four birdies and just one bogey Monday. A testament to her veteran leadership, she rolled in a birdie one hole after her lone bogey of the day.
The senior finished the tournament second in the lineup and 29th in the field on a 4-over-par 220.
Hekkonen, who is competing in just the third lineup of her young career, came up with a 1-under-par 71 in the final round. The rookie began the day with a double on the par-3 No. 12 and a bogey on the par-4 No. 13, then it was nothing but success from thereon. She recorded a birdie on the par-5 No. 14, then three more on her second nine. Hekkonen turned her tournament around quite a bit, dropping two strokes from the first to the second round and four strokes from the second to the third round. She finished T42 on a 7-over-par 223.
Karlie Campbell, also a freshman competing in just her third lineup, came up just 1-over on the day. She actually recorded six birdies on the day, but was plagued with a handful of bogeys throughout the final round. Her six birdies were more than any of her teammates recorded this week. She landed in a tie for 55th place thanks to a 9-over-par 225.
Brooke Oberparleiter had a solid bounce back final round on a 1-over-par 73 on Monday. Overall, she finished tied for 67th place at 12-over.
The UK women’s golf team will fly back to the Bluegrass to prepare for its next tournament at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, beginning on March 3.
Scorecard
T3 Cathryn Brown 68, 69, 75 … 212 (-4)
29 Marta López Echevarría 76, 75, 69 … 220 (+4)
T42 Anastasia Hekkonen 77, 75, 71 … 223 (+7)
T55 Karlie Campbell 79, 73, 73 … 225 (+9)
T67 Brooke Oberparleiter 78, 77, 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.
