Squeezing in 36 holes just before the sun set on the U of L Golf Club in Simpsonville, Kentucky, Bettel is tied for 10th at 2-over par through two rounds while Rose sits in a tie for 25th at 5-over par.
The veterans were bright spots on a difficult day on the course. After a slow start, the Wildcats finished their opening two rounds at 36-over par a pair of 306s in each round.
Louisville, the tournament’s host, leads, the 15-team field at 3-under par. The Cardinals’ Lauren Hartlage has run away with the individual lead at 10-under par, nine shots clear of second place.
Kentucky will try to rebound Sunday in the final round, which is set to begin at 9:15 a.m. with a shotgun start. Admission is free and fans are encouraged to attend. The U of L Golf Club is less than an hour drive from UK’s campus.
Live scoring for the final round will continue to be available at GolfStat.com.
Although they’re out of contention for first place, the Wildcats will try to salvage the weekend with a final-round push in a field that features seven teams ranked in the top 50 of the newly released Golfstat rankings, including seven teams that made NCAA regionals last season.
A comeback will likely start with Bettel and Rose, who continued their strong starts to the 2017-18 season.
Bettel was UK’s most consistent player of the day. She opened Saturday with a 74 with 15 pars, a birdie, a bogey and a double bogey.
She kept that momentum rolling into the second round with an even-par 72. The transfer from NC State rolled in three birdies for her second round of even par or better in her young Kentucky career. Bettel responded nicely to three straight bogeys midway through the second round by going 1-under par over her final five holes.
Rose, coming off an individual co-championship at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational two weeks ago, continued her strong play Saturday. She opened the tournament with a 2-over 74 and followed with a 3-over 75. Staying true to her career-long penchant to minimize potentially round-damaging holes, Rose didn’t record a single score worse than bogey for all 36 holes Saturday.
Senior Isabelle Johansson, junior Claire Carlin and freshman Claire Cameron contributed to Kentucky’s other scores for the team total. Johansson (14-over par, tied for 60th) had an uncharacteristically difficult day on the course with a pair of 79s, tied for highest scores since her freshman season. Carlin is tied for 73rd at 17-over par. Playing for the team total for the first time in her career, freshman Claire Cameron is tied for 76th at 19-over par.
Three other Wildcats – sophomores Josephine Chang and Sarah Shipley and freshman Sarah Fite – are competing as individuals this weekend. Shipley played well in both rounds (75-76) for a 7-over 151. She’s tied for 32nd. Chang is tied for 60th at 14-over par and Fite is tied for 66th at 15-over par.
This week’s field consists of Ball State, Charlotte, Columbia, East Carolina, Illinois, Kent State, Kentucky, Louisville, Memphis, Murray State, Richmond, Toledo, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin.
The Cardinal Cup is the third tournament scheduled of UK’s fall season. After Sunday’s round, the Wildcats will quickly regroup for next weekend’s Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, North Carolina. Kentucky is coming off a seventh-place finish at the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship and a fourth-place showing at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational.
For fans attending Sunday’s final round, the forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with a high of 80 degrees.
The U of L Golf Club, just a short drive away from Lexington, is playing at 6,250 yards, a par 72, this week.
For the latest on the Kentucky women’s golf team, follow the team on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.
Eric Lindsey
Associate Director of Media Relations
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