⛳ Kansas Has Solid Second Round at Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas improved 13 strokes from round one to round two after the opening day at the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational at Colbert Hills Golf Course Monday.
Kansas’ 293 (+5) in the second round was the second-lowest round of the afternoon. KU is in fourth place in the 10-team field and one shot behind third-place Sam Houston State (598). Nebraska ‘B’ leads the field with a two-round 598 (+5), which included the low second-round score of 291.
“We got off to a rough start and took a while to adjust to the speed of the greens being cut this morning,” said Kansas head coach Lindsay Kuhle whose team shot a 306 in the morning round. “After we settled down through 22 holes, we finished strong and played Jayhawk golf.”
Two Jayhawks are in the top 10 of the 62-golfer field with senior Pear Pooratanaopa tied for fourth with a two-round 147 (+3) and super-senior Sera Tadokoro, who is tied for eighth at 148 (+7). Tadokoro carded five of her seven birdies on the day in the second round to shoot a 1-under 71. Pooratanaopa recorded four second-round birdies to finish with an even-par 72. She had five birdies on the day. Nebraska’s Lindsey Thiele leads the field with a two-round 141 (-3).
“I loved the way Pear competed with confidence today and finished with a birdie on her last hole for a 72,” Kuhle said. “Sera was tremendous her last four holes at 3-under and showed true heart and resilience after a 77 this morning.”
Kansas senior Abby Glynn, who is playing as an individual, is tied for 23rd after carding a 77-75—152 (+8). Jayhawk senior Lauren Heinlein and freshman teammate Caroline Wales are tied for 31st with a two-round 153 (+9), while sophomore Hanna Hawks is tied for 38th at 154 (+10) and freshman Jordan Rothman is tied for 40th at 155 (+11). Wales is also playing as an individual.
Tuesday’s final round will begin at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start and fans can follow live stats the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational can be found here via Golfstat.com.
