KU women have ground to make up in final round to advance to NCAA golf championships

By Staff report     May 9, 2023

article image Photo courtesy of Kansas Athletics
The KU women's golf team, which finished second at last week's Big 12 Match Play tournament in Arizona, poses together on the course.

Seven strokes and 18 holes are standing in the way of the Kansas women’s golf team and a chance to play for a national championship.

The Jayhawks have to finish fifth or better in the team standings at the NCAA Regional at the UGA Golf Course in Athens, Georgia. Final round action is set for Wednesday, and KU will enter it seven strokes out of that coveted fifth-place spot.

KU remained in the hunt after day two of the competition thanks to graduate senior Esme Hamilton carding a solid 1-over par round for the day. That was five strokes better than her opening round on Monday, which gave the Jayhawks a boost overall. KU’s total team score on Tuesday was two shots better than its Monday results.

The two shot difference, though, wasn’t enough for the Jayhawks to move up the leader board. As was the case at the end of the first round, KU finished round 2 in eighth place among the 12 teams in the regional.

Kansas head coach Lindsay Kuhle, who is very familiar with the Georgia from her time as an assistant with the University of Georgia, was encouraged by what she saw.

“We had a really strong finish, which was nice to see,” Kuhle said.

KU super-senior Abby Glynn carded nine-straight pars to end the day with a 75 2-over par. Glynn is KU’s leader after two rounds at 4-over par, which is tied for 23rd. Georgia’s Jenny Bae leads the individual field with a two-day score of 8-under par.

Georgia, the host school for the tournament, also leads in the team standings with a score of 15-under par. South Carolina is second at 5-under par, San Jose State is third at 7-over par, Maryland is fourth at 13-over par. Augusta, Ohio State and Ole Miss are tied for the fifth and final spot to advance at 15-over par. KU next in line at 22-over par. KU also is tied with Furman.

The seven stroke deficit will be a challenge, but so too will the need to pass four teams to make the next round. But Kuhle said she’s confident the Jayhawks will have the right attitude.

“I know we will come out hungry, competitive and firing tomorrow with nothing to lose,” Kuhle said.

The NCAA Championship tournament is set for May 19-24 at the Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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