Kansas finishes round one at Palmetto Intercollegiate

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – The Kansas women’s golf team fell behind a competitive field Saturday afternoon on a tough Turtle Point Golf Course during day one of the Palmetto Intercollegiate in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

Junior Sera Tadokoro led the charge for the Jayhawks, recording a final score of 1-over par 73 while carding a pair of birdies. Tadokoro’s progress was halted by a pair of early bogeys as she finished the day sitting just outside of the top-20.

“Sera had a steady day overall,” said head coach Erin O’Neil. “She kept it at bogey or better and finished under par for her last few holes. She’s in a good position to move up the leaderboard over the next two days if she sticks to her game plan.”

Sophomore Pear Pooratanaopa recorded some bogeys during the front-nine, but she got back on track and carded even scores on all of the back-nine to end the day with a score of 4-over par 76.

“Pear had a tough front nine but settled down on the back to shoot even,” said O’Neil. “She didn’t have any birdies today to offset the bogies so hopefully she can stay patient the next two days and get back on track there.”

Senior Yi-Tsen Chou was just behind Pooratanaopa with a score of 5-over par 77.

The rest of the Jayhawk squad found trouble on the course and early bogeys proved to be too much for them to overcome during the first round of the tournament. Overall, Kansas sits in a tie for 16th place on the leaderboard.

“I’m very disappointed in our play today,” said O’Neil. “We struggled with putting and making birdies. The greens are slow and therefore don’t break as much as you might think. You’re likely to have a penalty shot or two on this course but it’s short enough that we should have been able to offset some of those penalties with a birdie or two. Fortunately, we still have two rounds to play and can move up the leaderboard. We definitely have better rounds in us.”

The Jayhawks will continue with day two of the Palmetto Intercollegiate on Monday, Oct. 14 with a tee time of 9 a.m. (CT).

Fans can follow along throughout the tournament on the KU women’s golf social channels and via GolfStat.