Jayhawks finish in top-10 at Palmetto Intercollegiate
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The Kansas women’s golf team fought the tough course and competition to finish ninth place at the Palemetto Intercollegiate in Kiawah Island, South Carolina Tuesday afternoon.
Junior Sera Tadokoro fell just shy of finishing inside the top-20 after taking 23rd place while shooting 2-over par 74 during the third round. Tadokoro was labored by one too many bogeys on the front-nine, but bounced back on the final nine holes while scoring mostly even and ending with a final overall score of +3.
Sophomore Pear Pooratanaopa got hot early, firing three birdies and scoring even in the front-nine. She continued shooting consistently on the back half to end the day with a score of 1-under par 71. Pooratanaopa finished just behind Tadokoro in a tie for 29th.
“Sera and Pear have really stepped up for us this fall,” said head coach Erin O’Neil. “It’s been great to see them mature as players on the course and to see the results follow.”
Senior Yi-Tsen Chou, junior Aristelle Acuff and freshman Ying-Ting Hsieh could not regain their footing after a shaky first round and finished in T63, T74, T80 place, respectively.
“Yi-Tsen has struggled this fall and hasn’t been as steady, especially with ball striking compared to her previous seasons,” said O’Niel. “It would be nice to see her get back on track and have solid finish to wrap up the fall on a positive note. Aristelle and Ying-Ting are both young when it comes to competitive experience in their own ways so they haven’t been as consistent as they are capable of being. Hopefully competing a lot this fall will give them the opportunity to play through the ups and downs and allow them to learn more about their strengths and weaknesses. Both of them hit the ball very well but need to keep working on course management/mental game and short game to get to that next level.”
Sophomore Abby Glynn competed as an individual and finished in a tie for 84th.
“It was good to see us come back and play better the second and third rounds,” said O’Neil. “Unfortunately, the first round put us very far behind. Scores were low out there, you couldn’t ask for more scoreable conditions really. We struggled getting the ball in the hole around the green and need to do better at capitalizing on birdie opportunities when we have them. We definitely will spend extra time the next two days on short game to prepare for Louisville.”
The Jayhawks will have a quick turnaround as they head to Louisville, Kentucky to compete in their final tournament of the fall, the Louisville Cardinal Cup, on Oct. 18-20.
