The collegiate career of Kentucky women’s golfer Leonie Bettel will continue into the postseason with selection into the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship.
Although the UK women’s golf team did not make the NCAA Regionals field, Bettel was one of 24 individuals who earned an individual spot in the postseason. Bettel, a senior, will compete in the Auburn Regional at Saugahatchee Country Club in Opelika, Alabama, May 6-8.
The field was announced Wednesday on the Golf Channel.
“Obviously I am super excited about making it to regionals as an individual and getting another chance to compete in Kentucky blue for UK,” Bettel said. “It’s my last season in college so making regionals makes it even better.”
Seventy-two teams and 24 individuals were selected to compete at one of the four regional sites, each featuring 18 teams and six individuals. From regional competition, 24 teams (the low six teams from each regional) and 12 individuals (the low three individuals not on those teams) will advance to the national championships, which will be played May 17-22 at the Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The other three regional tournaments are in East Lansing, Michigan; Norman, Oklahoma; and Cle Elum, Washington.
The regionals will consist of 54 holes with 18 holes played in consecutive days starting May 6. Live stats will be available at GolfStat.com.
The 2019 appearance will mark Bettel’s third postseason appearance. She previously competed in NCAA Regional play twice with NC State. She tied for 59th as a freshman in 2016 and tied for 57th in 2017 as a sophomore.
“We are excited that Leo was selected to play in NCAA Regionals,” UK head coach Golda Borst said. “She’s had one of the most successful careers of any player within our program and we are happy to see her career continue on.”
Bettel was certainly worthy of inclusion in this year’s field as a three-time individual champion, one win shy of Kate Rogerson (1987-88) for the most tournament titles in single-season history. She won the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship and Bettie Lou Evans Invitational in the fall to become the first Wildcat since Lauri Berles in 1995-96 to win two tournaments in a season, and she followed that up with a victory at the Clover Cup in the spring. She was named the Southeastern Conference Co-Women’s Golfer of the Week after the Clover Cup championship.
A midseason ANNIKA Award candidate, Bettel is averaging 72.8 strokes per 18-hole round, which would be the single-season school record if the season ended today. Isabelle Johansson averaged a 73.42 during the 2016-17 season. With a 71 in the second round of the SEC Championship last week, she moved past Johansson for the most single-season rounds of par or better in school history with 13.
Included in those 13 rounds of par or better was a 65 in the final round of the Mercedes-Benz Collegiate Championship, which was just one stroke off the 18-hole school record, and a 54-hole school record of 205 (11-under par) at the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational.
With her three championships leading the way, Bettel has posted five top-10 finishes this season with two more top-20 showings. She finished inside the top 10 in half of UK’s team tournaments this season and outside the top 20 in only three of the 10.
A model of consistency, all 29 of Bettel’s rounds this season were counted towards the team score.
Although the Wildcats did not make NCAA Regionals as a team, UK has made the postseason in six of nine seasons in the Borst era. In addition to Bettel’s three individual titles, Kentucky won the Bettie Lou Evans Invitational in the fall, UK’s first team championship since 2011.
Underscoring the league’s strength, 12 SEC teams made the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship field with four league teams in Bettel’s regional.
The Saugahatchee Country Club will play as a par 72 at 6,371 yards. It was ranked one of the top five in the state of Alabama by Golf Digest
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.
GO CATS –
For more information contact:
Eric Lindsey
