The No. 25/21 University of Kentucky women’s golf team completed not one, but two rounds of golf to break in its new season Monday. The Wildcats put together an 11-over-par 579 to find 13th place at the Cougar Classic at Yeamans Hall Club (par 71, 6,269 yards) in Charleston, South Carolina, with 18 holes left to play.
“Today was tough for our team,” said head coach Golda Borst. “I know it wasn’t the start we wanted, but that’s golf and one day of rough golf doesn’t define who we are. We battled all day, and I was proud of all of them for how patient they stayed. We kept creating opportunities and just struggled to read the greens to get the ball in the hole. There’s a lot of golf left and we’re looking forward to getting back after it tomorrow morning.”
In a field of 18 teams, Kentucky is one shot ahead of 14th place and just eight shots off of the top 10. Recent national champion Ole Miss has a dominant lead at the Cougar Classic, sporting a 13-under-par 555, while Clemson and NC State make up the top three in a tie for second place at 5-under-par 563.
Laney Frye, a Lexington, Kentucky, native, paced the lineup at the Cougar Classic, recording two rounds of par-or-better. The junior is tied with teammate Jensen Castle for Kentucky’s best round of the season thus far, turning in a 2-under-par 69 after her first 18 holes of 2022-23. During her morning round, she carded four birdies, including three on the back nine, and just two bogeys. Frye followed that up with an afternoon even-par 71, where she bounced back from a double on the par-5 No. 9 (508 yards) with an eagle on the par-4 No. 11 (392 yards).
Her 2-under-par 140 scorecard through 36 holes is tied with five others for 17th place, and just two strokes off of the top 10.
Castle had her share of the 60s on Monday, too, following up a first-round 74 with a second-round 69. Despite suffering back-to-back bogeys to begin the morning round, she recovered with a birdie on the par-4 No. 17 and remained steadfast after that.
It was the afternoon round where the South Carolina native shined most, when the senior collected six birdies on her scorecard, including an impressive five birdies on the back side of the course. That helped her move 22 spots up the leaderboard from her first round to her second round, turning in a 1-over-par 143 tournament total for a share of 35th place.
The newcomer and graduate transfer Ivy Shepherd posted a 1-over-par 72 in her debut in Blue and White. The former Clemson star had a strong start to the morning, riding at 2-under through 14 holes. She had a pair of blemishes on Nos. 10 and 11, but her three birdies on the round forged her some wiggle room. In the second round, she posted a 5-over-par 76, producing a 6-over-par 148 tournament total and a tie for 67th place.
Marissa Wenzler got off the strong start to the morning, too, cruising to a 1-over-par 72 in the first round with just a pair of bogeys and a birdie on the par-5 No. 9. However, the long day began to catch up with her in the second round, as she formed a 6-over-par 77 in the afternoon. The Dayton, Ohio, native is 7-over on the tournament in a tie for 73rd place.
Just behind her is María Villanueva Aperribay, who put together a 3-over-par 74 in the morning round and a 5-over-par 76 in the second round, good for an 8-over-par 150 tournament total and a share of 79th place.
The Wildcats will compete in their final 18 holes in a shotgun format Tuesday at 8:45 a.m. ET. Live scoring will be available on Golfstat.com.
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.
Rankings – WGCA/Golfweek
RESULTS
T17 Laney Frye 69, 71 … 140 (-2)
T35 Jensen Castle 74, 69 … 143 (+1)
T67 Ivy Shepherd 72, 76 … 148 (+6)
T73 Marissa Wenzler 72, 77 … 149 (+7)
T79 María Villanueva Aperribay 74, 76 … 150 (+8)
– GO CATS –
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