Although the Wildcats fell just short as a team, senior Grace Rose delivered in the clutch with the her first career tournament title and UK’s first individual tournament championship since Isabelle Johansson won the Minnesota Invitational in the fall of 2016.
Rose rallied from a four-shot deficit following Saturday’s second round at the University Club of Kentucky (par 72, 6,221 yards) with a 4-under-par final round to tie Notre Dame’s Emma Albrecht at 5-under par overall. The 211 for Rose is a career best, beating her previous low of 214 at the 2017 Southeastern Conference Championship.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Rose said following her win. “I know that winning this tournament is an honor because Bettie Lou has made such a big impact on this program, for women’s golf in Kentucky. I’m completely honored to share this title with Emma Albrecht.”
With Rose leading the way, Kentucky finished in fourth place with an 881 (17-over par), behind Notre Dame (8-over par), Wisconsin (12-over par) and Penn State (16-over par). The Wildcats entered Saturday’s 36-hole marathon in second place but struggled to fight off winds that gusted at 20 miles per hour and above throughout the day.
Matters were made worse when redshirt senior Ale Walker, who was tied for first place entering Saturday, had to withdraw at the end of the second round due to injury. That gave UK no margin for error in its attempt to come back from a double-digit stroke deficit.
But come back the Wildcats did.
Ultimately, however, Notre Dame was too much and held off the Wildcats and the rest of the 16-team field.
“I’m really impressed and I’m beyond proud for (Rose) to, again, manage her emotions,” UK head coach Golda Borst said. “I know she set out to win, and for her to pull through, being a senior and in her first and only home tournament that we’ve hosted (is great). She had a ton of family out there. She really, really, stayed in the moment and I’m really excited and I’m really proud of her and her entire family. They’ve worked really hard.”
On a weekend that included a number of highs, Rose’s co-championship was obviously the highlight. Rose’s 211 (tied with Albrecht) is now the lowest 54-hole score in the 28 years of the tournament. As a matter of fact, all four major records of the tournament fell this weekend. In addition to the individual 54-hole low:
• Notre Dame set the new 54-hole Bettie Lou Evans Invitational team record with an 872
• Notre Dame’s team score of 284 in the first round is a team 18-hole record
• Indiana’s Mary Parson’s 66 in the third round is now the lowest 18-hole individual score
Rose cut the four-shot deficit with four birdies in her first 10 holes. From there she applied pressure to Albrecht with eight straight pars to close the round and numerous birdie opportunities. Rose couldn’t get one of several birdie putts down the stretch to drop, but she also never wilted under immense pressure.
Assistant coach Brian May was alongside her for nearly all of the back nine to guide her through the round – all without letting her know where she stood in relation to Albrecht.
“I think Brian being there just helps me slow down,” Rose said. “We don’t really do anything differently than I would if I was playing alone, but he is just someone to talk to and slow me down. I tend to walk fast when I’m excited or I want to continue on to my shot, so he kind of makes me fall back a little bit and slow down and keep my process slow.”
Walker looked poised to be at the top of the leaderboard with Rose after entering the day tied for first, and she had her moments in the second round, going out at just 1-over par. But an injury flared up on Walker on the back and she had to withdraw after the second round.
That meant there could be no slip-ups for the four remaining Wildcats eligible for scoring in the third round. They all had their moments as UK stormed back into contention.
Bettel (231, tied for 42nd) provided the most thrilling moment of the tournament with a hole-in-one on the U-Club’s signature hole on No. 8. With the pin up front on the island green and the wind swirling, Bettel hit a perfect shot for her first career ace.
The hole-in-one followed a birdie on No. 7 to apply pressure to the top three teams on the leaderboard.
Senior Isabelle Johansson notched the fifth top-10 finish of her career with a 4-over-par 220 (73-75-72). Junior Claire Carlin finished out the team scoring for the Wildcats in the final round with a 76 and a 230 overall, tied for 36th.
Sophomore Sarah Shipley improved her score in each round (79-76-74) for a 229 and a 32nd-place finish. Freshman Sarah Fite placed 63rd in her first career tournament with a 237 and sophomore Josephine Chang tied for 73rd with a 242. Redshirt sophomore Zoe Collins had to withdraw after the second round.
UK was attempting to win its 12th Bettie Lou Evans Invitational title this week. The Bettie Lou Evans Invitational was named after longtime UK head coach (1979 to 2001) and current director of operations (2002 to present) Bettie Lou Evans. Previously known as the Wildcat Fall Invitational before dedicating it to Evans, the tournament has been in existence since 1979. It was played every year until a four-year break from 1998 to 2001. There were also one-year breaks in 2007 and 2010 before the current six-year gap.
Halfway through their fall season, the Wildcats will take a two-week break before another local tournament. UK will head west on Interstate 64, Oct. 21-22, for the Cardinal Cup in Simpsonville, Kentucky, before a quick turnaround to the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, North Carolina, Oct. 27-29. That stretch will cap three tournaments in a four-week stretch and mark the end of the fall season.
“The girls really loved it,” Borst said of hosting. “I think the feedback I got from all the girls and all the coaches, everybody thought we were very organized, and things went well and smoothly and that’s all that we hoped for. I think everybody did a great job. I’m proud of it, and it’s good when you can walk away saying you’re proud of your event. I can’t wait to host in future years. It’s going to be really good.”
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
Men’s Basketball and Women’s Golf
UK WGolf’s Rose Captures Bettie Lou Evans Invitational Co-Championship
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