⛳️ Kansas Leads Westbrook Invitational After Record-Breaking Performance
PEORIA, Ariz. – The Kansas women’s golf team set new 18-hole and 36-hole program records and lead the 14-team field at -30 after the opening two rounds of the Westbrook Invitational at Westbrook Village Golf Club.
“What a day for the Jayhawks,” said head coach Lindsay Kuhle. “All six players were incredible today and played with such poise and confidence. We’ve talked a lot about trusting our preparation, the process, believing in each other and competing and we did just that today.”
Kuhle and the Jayhawks continue their surge of breaking program records as the team rewrote the history books in Sunday’s competition. Kansas fired off a 19-under opening round, surpassing the previous 18-hole record of -14, which was set at the UNM Dick McGuire earlier this fall. Kansas closed out its dominant first day at -30, setting a new 36-hole program record. The previous record came after the first 36 holes of the UCF Challenge last season (-10).
Three Jayhawks are inside the Top 10 as Lily Hirst leads the Jayhawks alone in second at -9. Jordan Rothman (-8) is tied for third and Lauren Clark (-7) is tied for seventh. Hanna Hawks (-6) is in a tie for 12th, Johanna Ebner (-4) is T22 and Lyla Louderbaugh is T32 at -2.
Kansas is atop the leaderboard at -30, followed by Oklahoma (-23), Wisconsin (-16), Kansas State (-16), Missouri (-16) and Nebraska (-16) rounding out the top five.
ROUND ONE
Hirst led the charge for Kansas in the first round Sunday morning, carding five birdies and just one bogey for an opening round 68 (-4). Hirst caught fire on the front nine and picked up three consecutive birdies on holes five, six and seven.
After bogeying two of her first three holes, Rothman bounced back and carded a clean scorecard the rest of the way, highlighted by four birdies. Rothman opened the tournament with a three-under round of 69.
Clark also carded a three-under 69 in the first round, picking up four birdies and just one bogey. Clark tabbed three birdies on the four available par-five holes.
Hawks opened the event with a solid round, making two birdies and allowing just one bogey for a one-under 71. Ebner, who is competing for Kansas as an individual, carded an even-par round of 72. Louderbaugh shot a one-over 73 that included two birdies.
“From start to finish we were ready to compete and played fearless golf,” Kuhle added. “I was proud of the ladies for their aggressive play, wedges, and short game. We made some great putts today after hitting it close which was fun to see.”
ROUND TWO
Hirst kept her foot on the gas pedal, picking up six birdies while allowing just one bogey for a second round score of 67 (-5). The round of 67 was her lowest 18-hole score as a Jayhawk.
Rothman also carded a five-under round of 67. Rothman notched six birdies and allowed a bogey, which included a stretch of three-straight birdies on holes four, five and six.
Joining Rothman and Hirst, Hawks posted a bogey-free five-under round of 67 to lead Kansas in the second round. In her four-year career at Kansas, Hawks’ previous career-low round was 71.
Clark carded a four-under round of 68 on Sunday afternoon, kicking off her round with three-consecutive birdies. Ebner picked up a team-high seven birdies in the second round, allowing three birdies for a four-under round of 68, respectively. Ebner jumped on the birdie train and carded three straight on holes eight, nine and 10.
Louderbaugh rounded out the six-person lineup, all of which scored under par for the second round, tabbing a three-under 69.
“We’ll be in great shape if we can keep these feelings and momentum tomorrow which will be a fun opportunity for us,” Kuhle said ahead of the final round.
The third and final round of the Westbrook Invitational is set for a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. CT. Fans can follow live scoring provided by Golfstat, as well as live updates throughout the round from the official Kansas Women’s Golf Twitter (X) account.
