DALLAS – Graduate senior Esme Hamilton shot a 3-under 69 to lead Kansas women’s golf on Day 2 of the 2023 Big 12 Championship at the Dallas Athletic Club Saturday.
Kansas remained in seventh place shooting a 295 (+7) in the event’s second round. The Jayhawks improved nine shots from its opening-round 304 and are at 599 (+23) heading into Sunday’s final round.
Hamilton carded four birdies and just one bogie in Saturday’s second round. She finished 2-under on the back nine with seven pars and two birdies. After entering the day tied for 28th in the 45-golfer field, Hamilton is tied for 14th place at 146 (+2) heading into Sunday’s final round. Hamilton’s 69 tied her KU low for the year and marked the ninth time in 2022-23 that she has shot even par or better. Hamilton also shot a 69 in the final round of the Dick McGuire Invitational back in September.
“I’m really proud of Esme and how she stepped up in shooting three under,” Kansas head coach Lindsay Kuhle said. “She was very confident and consistent today. She hit a lot of shots really close to the pin, which was great to see.”
KU sophomore Lauren Clark shot an even-par 72 Saturday, improving three shots from her first round. Clark had three birdies for her second round and her 72 was her eighth round of par or better this spring. Clark is 3-over (147) for her two rounds and is tied for 20th for the championship.
“I was proud of Lauren shooting a 72,” Kuhle said. “She had a great round today.”
Jayhawk sophomore Johanna Ebner and super senior Abby Glynn each shot a 5-over 77 Saturday, while sophomore Jordan Rothman carded a 79.
In a nine-team field that features seven teams ranked in the Golfstat top 50, the No. 50 Jayhawks are five shots ahead of No. 8 Texas (604) and 13 shots behind sixth-place No. 40 TCU. No. 23 Oklahoma State shot a 10-under par 278 Saturday and took over the lead with a two-round 572 (-4), which is two shots ahead of first-round leader No. 34 Texas Tech. There is a three-way tie atop the individual leaderboard for first play with Oklahoma State’s Clemence Martin and Maddison Hinson-Tolchard and Iowa State’s Pimkwan Chookaew all at 4-under (140).
“We know we’ve left a few shots out there and we’re excited for tomorrow,” Kuhle said. “It’s supposed to be cold, rainy and windy tomorrow for the whole day. It will be all about who’s tough and who is ready to compete in the final round and I think we are all those things.”
Kansas will be paired with Texas and Kansas State for the final round and will tee off Sunday at 8 a.m. CT. Live scoring from the Big 12 Championship can be found here via Golfstat.com. Sunday’s final round will be will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ starting at 12:30 p.m.
