Kansas in third after day one of Big 12 Championship

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. – Kansas women’s golf opened play at the Big 12 Championship Sunday afternoon, enjoying 18 holes of play at the par-72, 6,341 yard Golf Club of Oklahoma. The three-day, 54-hole tournament is hosted by the University of Oklahoma and runs through Tuesday.

On a sunny and 60 degree day, the Jayhawks hovered around the top-five all day and ultimately finished in third place by firing a 297 (+9).  The Jayhawks are sitting behind No. 32 Baylor (+4) and No. 2 Texas (-1) with 36 holes remaining.

Sophomore Sera Tadokoro, freshman Pear Pooratanaopa and junior Yi-Tsen Chou are all tied for tenth place after the opening round, each carding a 74 (+2). Tadokoro picked up three birdies on the back nine with two of them coming on the final two holes. Pooratanaopa, making her debut at the Big 12 Championship, played a solid back nine (-1) including a birdie of her own to close the day. Chou shot even through her first nine holes and also tallied three birdies to emerge in the top-ten. The trio’s opening round score is only seven strokes out of the lead behind Sara Kouskova of Texas.

“It’s really good to see them play well,” head coach Erin O’Neil said. “It’s a tough course and they did a good job of managing themselves all day with their mindset. Tomorrow has to be a new day since we still have two more rounds so we have to keep grinding and stay in the moment.”