Jayhawks take third at Palmetto Intercollegiate, marking third-straight top-five finish

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Kansas women’s golf carded an impressive even-par 288 on Tuesday’s final round of play at the Palmetto Intercollegiate, helping earn them a third place finish at the par 72, 6,005 Turtle Point Golf Course, its third-consecutive top-five finish of the season. The Jayhawks posted a three-day score of 8-over 872, placing behind Campbell and College of Charleston. 

Senior Ariadna Fonseca Diaz led the Jayhawks as she recorded three birdies in the final round on her way to placing fourth. She fired a blistering 3-under 69 on Tuesday and carded two under par rounds the past two days which helped her secure a spot among the top-5 finishers. Her three-day total of 2-under 214 brought her two strokes behind the three-way tie of finishers for 1st place. 

Senior Chomchana Phuchanbanchob played her best tournament of the season, recording a 1-over 217 over the past three days and carding two rounds of even par or better the first two days of action. On the final day, she carded a 1-over 73 thanks to a consistent front nine effort and finished in a tie for 5th place.

After moving into the top-5 on day two, junior Sera Tadokoro hit on five birdies in the final round and posted a 3-over 75 on the final day of action. She finished in a tie for 7th place, marking the third time she’s finished in the top-10 in her KU career.

Junior Yi-Tsen Chou posted a 7-over 223 with her best round coming on Tuesda,y with an under par 71. Her 3-under effort on the back nine helped move her up 22 spots from day one to secure her a tie for 24th place. 

Freshman Pear Pooratanaopa shot her first sub-par tournament of the season, finishing in a tie for 57th place. 

NOTES

• Ariadna Fonseca Diaz’s 71-74-69–214 performance was her best since the 2016-17 season where posted a 75-69-68–212 sheet at the Westbrook Spring Invitational. 
• Sera Tadokoro recorded her third under par round of the season
• Chomchana Phuchanbanchob placed 4th out of the field in pars, hitting 40 for the tournament. 

QUOTES
Head coach Erin O’Neil on team’s performance over the last three days:
“We are very pleased with what we saw the last three days-resiliency, patience, determination and a competitive spirit from everyone. It was also great to see our play improve each day and to finish with an under par round.”

On how Ariadna has improved and how she looked on the final day of play:
“Ari looked very confident throughout the tournament. She’s hit the ball well, putted great and kept her composure throughout. We are extremely proud of all of her efforts both on and off the golf course.”

On her thoughts on the fall campaign thus far and next week’s final event of the fall (Trinity Forest Invitational): 
“We’ve seen steady improvement throughout the fall. As a group everyone has been open to learning new shots and to trying different strategies on the course which has translated to better, more consistent scores. Our last tournament is at SMU which will be a completely different kind of golf than what we are used to playing as Trinity Forest is a links course. Its more open off the tee but it will require us to use a lot of bump and run type shots and to have good speed with our putts. It will be a great opportunity for us to compete on a top level course with solid competition.

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks hit the greens for their final tournament of the fall campaign, heading to Dallas, Texas, for the Trinity Forest Invitational hosted by SMU. The event runs October 29-30 at the Trinity Forest Golf Club. 

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