Jayhawks finish first round of Moon Golf Invitational
MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Kansas women’s golf team completed the first round of the Moon Golf Invitational but could not finish the second round due to play being suspended. KU is currently sitting in 14th place with one hole remaining in the second round.
The Jayhawks had a shaky first round, finishing in 14th place and with no golfers finishing at or below par and their struggles continued into the second round.
“In the first round we did a good job of keeping things at bogey or better for the entire 18 holes which was very encouraging to see us do,” said head coach Erin O’Neil. “Unfortunately, the birdie putts weren’t falling which prevented us from making up for any missed shots or poor decisions. In the second round most of the shots we gave away were around the green, there were definitely too many three putts and not getting easy chips up and down from just off the green like we should.”
Sophomore Abby Glynn led Kansas during the first round, shooting 1-over par 73 in the first tournament of the spring.
Junior Sera Tadokoro shot 2-over par 74 in the first round, but picked up her pace in the second round, shooting 1-under par 71 through the front-nine. Tadokoro has one hole remaining in the second round and currently has a score of 2-over par 74.
Sophomore Pear Pooratanaopa bounced back in the second round after shooting 4-over par 76 in the first round to card an even score with one hole remaining in the second round. Pooratanaopa, Glynn and Tadokoro are currently sitting in a tie for 43rd place.
Kansas hopes to improve on its scores from the first day of the tournament to move up on the leaderboard during the final round.
“Tomorrow we need to focus on choosing shots that we can execute consistently and that will leave us in the best position to score,” said O’Neil. “We can’t go out there and try to force things to happen. It will be important to commit to playing to our individual strengths, to focus on what is in our control and to believe we can handle anything that comes our way.”
The Jayhawks will look to to complete the second round and bounce back during the third and final round of the Moon Golf Invitational. Play will resume on Tuesday, Feb. 18 with a 7:30 a.m. (CT) start for the second round and the teams will play straight into the third round.
Fans can follow along throughout the tournament on the KU women’s golf social channels and via GolfStat.
