Bluegrass Native Cathryn Brown Goes 1-Under in NCAA Championship First Round

CARLSBAD, Calif. – The Wildcats took their first-ever competitive lap around the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa North Course on Friday morning, putting together a 10-over team total for a share of 25th place after the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship first round in Carlsbad, California.

While it is the program’s first appearance at the final site since 2021, it is their first-ever appearance at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad since the NCAA Championship moved there three years ago.

That lack of course experience didn’t stop Cathryn Brown though, a junior from Eddyville, Kentucky, and the team leader in stroke average. She took over for the young lineup, shooting a 1-under to find a place inside the top 25.

Brown, who was first off the tee for the team this morning, was even-par for most of the first round – trading bogeys with birdies on the front and back nine – before knocking in a birdie putt on the par-5 No. 18 to finish her round under-par in front of more than a couple dozen Kentucky fans.

Raleygh Simpson and Karlie Campbell, a pair of sophomores, checked in four shots behind Brown, each turning in 3-over-par 75s to sit T100.

Simpson was pacing the team at 2-under through the first eight holes, earning two birdies and six pars right out of the gate, but suffered a frustrating double to put her back at even-par after a difficult bunker shot on the par-4 No. 9. She recorded four more bogeys on the back nine but also managed to squeeze in a birdie on the par-4 No. 15.

Campbell had an up-and-down day, despite rolling in some solid putts Friday. She tied Brown for the most birdies in the first round, each collecting four across their scorecards.

C.A. Carter, coming off a career performance at the NCAA Regionals, birdied her very first hole – the par-4 No. 1 – however it would be one of just two birdie opportunities for the sophomore Friday. She made the turn just 2-over, but a trio of bogeys and six pars gave the Lexington, Kentucky, native a 5-over par 77. The Wildcat is sitting in a share of 122nd place after 18.

Samantha Paradise, who led her previous team to a national championship title at the junior college level,  went 8-over in the first round at La Costa. She was just 1-over through 12 holes, with a birdie and just two bogeys on her scorecard, but she experienced a brutal stretch on hole Nos. 13 through 17 to move out of scoring position. The junior is in 150th place going into the second round.

The Wildcats, at 10-over and in a share of 25th place, will compete in the second round Saturday beginning at 4:07 p.m. ET / 1:07 p.m. PT. They will start off the 10th tee and again are paired with LSU and Virginia.

Scorecard
T24 Cathryn Brown 71 (-1)
T100 Karlie Campbell 75 (+3)
T100 Raleygh Simpson 75 (+3)
T122 C.A. Carter 77 (+5)
T150 Samantha Paradise 80 (+8)
T25 Kentucky 298 (+10)

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