Womens golf wins second-straight tournament to conclude fall season

Members+of+the+Kentucky+womens+golf+team+pose+with+the+Ruth%E2%80%99s+Chris+Tar+Heel+Invitational+trophy+on+Tuesday%2C+Oct.+18%2C+2022%2C+at+the+Governors+Club+in+Chapel+Hill%2C+North+Carolina.+Photo+provided+by+Jeffery+Camarati.

JEFFREY A. CAMARATI

Members of the Kentucky womens golf team pose with the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational trophy on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, at the Governors Club in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Photo provided by Jeffery Camarati.

Drew Johnson, Reporter

Kentucky womens golf finished first in the Ruth’s Chris Tarheel Invitational in North Carolina on Tuesday, officially concluding the fall schedule for golf.

The strong start to the season broke new ground for Kentucky, with the Wildcats win marking just the second time in the 21st century that UK won at least two tournaments in one season.

The win at the Illini Women’s Invitational one week prior marked the first tournament win in two years.

The Wildcats defeated a number of ranked opponents in the process, defeating No. 8 Duke by over 20 strokes and beating No. 1 Wake Forest by five strokes.

Wake Forest finished second in the tournament with a score of 865 (one-over-par) and North Carolina finished third with a score of 877 (13-over-par).

The performance was highlighted by senior Jensen Castle, who finished the tournament with a seven-under-par (209), the fourth best tournament total of her career.

Castle didn’t start the tournament off well, finishing in 20th place after the first round and seventh place after the second round.

Despite the poor start, three-straight birdies to start off the third round saw her jump into the top spot, with Castle eventually going on to claim victory with an eagle on the 53rd hole.

Laney Frye also had an impressive performance, finishing third in the competition with six-under-par (210), just one stroke short of Castle.

The performance tied for the second best in her career, highlighted by an eagle on a par-four that saw Frye find the hole from 212 yards away.

Frye and Castle have proven to be an impressive duo so far this season, with the pair recording a pair of rounds in the 60s, or below par, 41.7% of the time.

The Wildcats ended the tournament as the only team to finish under par despite competing against eight teams ranked in the Golfstat top 50.

The winning performance officially wrapped up the fall season for the Wildcats, as the team looks to resume both competition and its winning ways on Feb. 5-7 at the UCF Challenge in Orlando, Florida.