Kentucky women’s golf finished ninth out of 16 teams in their 2021-22 season opener at the Wolverine Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich. 

After 54 holes of golf, UK finished with a score of 35-over-par. The Wildcats shot an 8-over-par 292 in round one, followed by a 14-over-par 298 second round, finishing with a 13-over-par performance in round three.

The Wildcats, a team who returns all five starters from last year, finished 38 strokes behind leaders and tournament host Michigan, who posted a 4-under-par round one and 2-under-par round two, and finished with a 5-over-par round three. The Wolverines are the only team out of the 16-team field that finished under par through all three rounds.

After winning at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur, junior Jensen Castle led the way for Kentucky for the first two rounds, sitting at 2-over-par. However, she had a rough day today, shooting an 8-over-par, dropping her from 12th individually to tied for 29th.

María Villanueva Aperribay started the day at 4-over par. She matched Castle with a round-one 72, followed by a 74 in round two. Tuesday she shot 1-over-par, becoming the highest ranked Wildcat on the leaderboard, finishing 12th individually. 

Laney Frye, a 2021 SEC All-Freshman selection, fell behind the pack early on Monday and entered the final round tied at 72, sitting at 14-over-par. The final round treated the Sophomore better, as she posted the first under-par round for the ‘Cats this year, shooting 1-under-par.

Fifth-year senior Sarah Fite finished tied for 53rd, finishing 15-over-par for the tournament. 

“I think it was a little bit of a struggle but I think there were some positives,” Kentucky’s head coach Golda Borst said. “We got some work to do. We struggled around the greens, these green complexes are different than what we have seen and we just failed to adjust.”

The Wildcats next tournament will take place from Sept. 24-26 at the Mason Rudolph Championship in Nashville, Tenn.