Sophomore Golfer Leads Folds of Honor Collegiate by Five Shots Following 6-Under First Round
GRAND HAVEN, Mich. – The Wildcats made their presence felt at the Folds of Honor Collegiate on Monday, putting up imposing scores in the first round at the American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Michigan.
Sandwiched in the middle of the University of Kentucky women’s golf’s lineup was Anastasia Hekkonen, a sophomore from Helsinki, Finland, who turned in a 66 (-6) in the first round on six birdies and 12 pars. After starting on the 10th tee, one of those birdies came on the back nine on No. 15, while five came on the front nine on hole Nos. 4-7 and No. 9.
She is leading the field – made up of 59 student-athletes – by five shots. She also is one of just three players in the field under par.
While the 66 (-6) is Hekkonen’s career best, it also is tied for the fourth-best, 18-hole round in program history. Hekkonen’s previous career best was a 68 (-2), while she only recorded three under-par rounds as a freshman in 2024-25.
Her score helped launch the team into the top three after the first round.
Kentucky is tied for third place with North Carolina on a 295 (+7), just two shots behind Texas A&M in second place and three shots behind Baylor in first place. The Wildcats and the Aggies were paired together in the first round and will be paired together in the second round, too.
Kentucky, Texas A&M and Michigan State will tee off in the second round Tuesday beginning at 1:15 p.m. ET.
Several Wildcats hovered the individual leaderboard top 10 for the better part of the first round, including Cathryn Brown, who last night won the Folds of Honor Collegiate long drive on a 314-yard bomb.
The junior from Eddyville, Kentucky, concluded the day with a 73 (+1) and is tied with six others for seventh place. During her round, she paired five bogeys with four birdies, including birdies on back-to-back holes on the par-4 No. 5 and the par-5 No. 6.
Karlie Campbell, a sophomore from Ethridge, Tennessee, earned a 76 (+4) to find a share of 31st place on Monday. She went 2-over on the back nine and 2-over on the front nine – thanks to a birdie on the par-5 No. 2 – and concluded her day with four straight pars.
Raleygh Simpson and C.A. Carter – a pair of sophomores who combined for just six tournaments between the two of them prior to the start of the Folds of Honor Collegiate – went 8-over and 9-over for T47 and T51, respectively.
Simpson rolled in four birdies Monday, tied for the second most on the team, but a quad bogey on the par-4 No. 1 overshadowed those upsides.
Two days of competition remain, with the Wildcats taking the afternoon tee time Tuesday and the final round remaining Wednesday.
Big Blue Nation may be able to catch the team on Golf Channel both days, with live coverage scheduled tomorrow 9:30 a.m. ET – 12:30 p.m. ET and 4:30 p.m. ET – 7:30 p.m. ET. Fans also can follow along with live scoring on Scoreboard powered by Clippd.
Scorecard
1 Anastasia Hekkonen 66 (-6)
T7 Cathryn Brown 73 (+1)
T31 Karlie Campbell 76 (+4)
T47 Raleygh Simpson 80 (+8)
T51 C.A. Carter 81 (+9)
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s golf team, follow the team on X, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
