Kansas Women's Golf Finishes Eighth at Big 12 Championship
April 21, 2013
RHODES, Iowa – Kansas freshman Yupaporn ‘Mook’ Kawinpakorn shot a 4-over 76, tied for 10th and was named to the all-tournament team at the Big 12 Women’s Golf Championship at The Harvester Golf Club here Sunday. Kansas finished eighth as a team in the championship.
KU entered the day in eighth place and shot a final round 315 which was sixth best among the nine-team field. The Jayhawks ended the event with a three-round 941 (+77), which was five strokes behind Texas and TCU which tied for sixth at 936 (+72). KU finished 40 shots ahead of ninth-place Kansas State which shot a 981 (+117).
“Condition-wise today was tough; it was real windy which made the greens pretty slick,” KU head coach Erin O’Neil said. “We played better on the back nine after getting off to a tough start. Today wasn’t the type of day where you could make a lot of birdies and make up a lot of ground.”
Every Jayhawk ended the back nine with lower scores than the front nine in Sunday’s final round. Kawinpakorn had her lone birdie for the round on hole No. 10 to start the back nine where she finished 1-over after carding a 3-over on the front nine. Kawinpakorn, who became the first Jayhawk since Meghan Gockel in 2009 to be named to the Big 12 All-Tournament Team, ended the championship at 229 (+13) recording her fourth top-10 finish of the 2012-13 season. After shooting a 1-over 73 Saturday, KU sophomore Minami Levonowich shot a 79 (+7) on Sunday and finished at 232 (+16) and 16th in the 45-golfer field.
“Mook did a good job in earning all-tournament honors,” O’Neil said. “I am proud of her. She works really hard and it’s great to see that hard work paying off. Minami also had a very solid tournament for us. She played well.”
Kansas junior Meghan Potee placed 35th with a 242 (+26) which included an 84 on Sunday’s final round. Senior Audrey Yowell ended 38th at 244 (+28) and shot her championship-low-round 77 (+5) on Sunday. Junior Thanuttra ‘Fhong’ Boonraksasat, who carded an 83 Sunday, was one shot behind Yowell at 245 (+29) and tied for 39th overall.
Oklahoma State won the Big 12 Championship entering Sunday’s final round one stroke behind Baylor and shooting a 299, while BU shot a 302. The Cowgirls ended with a three-round 905 (+41) to Baylor’s 907 (+43). The title was OSU’s eighth Big 12 and its first since 2009.
Baylor’s Lauren Taylor led each round and won medalist honors with a three-round 213 (-3) including a 1-under 71 on Sunday. Taylor finished eight strokes ahead of runner-up Punpaka Phuntumabamrung of Iowa State who shot a 221 (+5).
Kansas will now look to be one of the 72 teams selected for NCAA regional play. The participant field will be announced on Monday, April 29, and should it be selected KU would play in the NCAA Central Regional in Norman, Okla. The Jayhawks have won two tournaments in 2012-13 and have nine top-10 finishes on its resume. KU entered the Big 12 Championship ranked 67th nationally.
2013 Big 12 Championship
The Harvester Golf Club * Rhodes, Iowa * Par 72
April 19-21 * Final results
Team Standings (nine teams, par 288)
1. Oklahoma State – 317-289-299–905 (+41)
2. Baylor – 319-286-302–907 (+43)
3. Iowa State – 320-286-306–912 (+48)
4. Oklahoma – 322-293-313–928 (+64)
5. Texas Tech – 316-296-319–931 (+67)
T6. Texas – 327-297-312–936 (+72)
T6. TCU – 326-294-316–936 (+72)
8. KANSAS – 322-304-315–941 (+77)
9. Kansas State – 350-306-325–981 (+117)
Top 10 Individuals (45 golfers, par 72)
1. Lauren Taylor, Baylor – 74-68-71–213 (-3)
2. P. Phuntumabamrung, Iowa State – 77-68-76–221 (+5)
3. A.C. Tanguay, Oklahoma – 80-70-73–223 (+7)
4. Hayley Davis, Baylor – 80-69-75–224 (+8)
T5. Cajsa Persson, Iowa State – 81-73-72–226 (+10)
T5. Kelsey Vines, Oklahoma State – 79-72-75–226 (+10)
T7. Jayde Panos, Oklahoma State – 76-72-72–227 (+11)
T7. Bertine Strauss, Texas – 80-69-78–227 (+11)
T7. Julie Yang, Oklahoma State – 76-72-79–227 (+11)
T10. Yupaporn Kawinpakorn, KANSAS – 76-77-76–229 (+13)
T10. Alexandra Bonetti, TCU – 82-71-76–229 (+13)
T10. Josephine Janson, Oklahoma State – 80-72-77–229 (+13)
Kansas Scores
16. Minami Levonowich, Kansas – 80-73-79–232 (+16)
T35. Meghan Potee, Kansas – 83-75-84–242 (+26)
38. Audrey Yowell, Kansas – 85-82-77–244 (+28)
T39. Thanuttra Boonraksasat, Kansas – 83-79-83–245 (+29)
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