RCW: Sport Spotlight 4.28 (Women's Golf)
The Jayhawks will enter the final round of the MountainView Collegiate in 1st place!
Yi-Tsen Chou has slowly moved her way up the leaderboard and now sits in a three way tie for 1st.
Final round tomorrow, let’s go ladies!!
— Kansas Women’s Golf (@KUWomensGolf) March 24, 2018
Spring Break Fun, one tournament down, second one starts tomorrow!! #backtobusiness #KUgolf
A post shared by Kansas Women’s Golf (@kuwomensgolf) on Mar 22, 2018 at 4:43pm PDT
Kansas women’s golf started off its weekend strong at the MountainView Collegiate in Tucson, Arizona. The Jayhawks finished in fourth place overall at the event and each of the three rounds saw solid performances from multiple Jayhawks.
“This weekend was a good opportunity for us to learn how to have a lead going into the final round,” said head coach Erin O’Neil. “We played very steady for the first 36 holes and put ourselves in a great position (to win), but our nerves got the best of us in the end.”
Freshman Sera Tadokoro’s first round was filled with highlights, as she shot a career-low 4-under (68) and was the first Jayhawk to accomplish the feat since current junior teammate Ariadna Fonseca Diaz and KU All-American Yupaporn Kawinpakorn (2013-16) executed the same performance in October 2015 at the Chip-N-Club Invitational. Tadokoro ended day one in first place, but ultimately finished the event in a tie for 19th.
“It was great to see our freshman, Sera Tadokoro, shoot 68 in the opening round,” said O’Neil. “She has so much potential and competitive fire and we are excited about her future.”
In round two, which was played Saturday, Kansas came out on top of the leaderboard shooting 13-over despite a windy day. The Jayhawks would enter the final round with a two-stroke lead. Sophomore Yi-Tsen Chou highlighted day two for KU, shooting 1-under (71) and ending the round in first place.
A struggle on day three ultimately dropped Kansas to fourth place in the field overall with a total of 889 after shooting 12-over (300) for the round. However, Chomchana “Cake” Phuchanbanchob was able to help secure the Jayhawks’ fourth-place finish by shooting 1-under in the final round. Phuchanbanchob ended the final round with five birdies and a 16th-place finish for the event. She was also the top finisher for Kansas for the second time this season.
“Cake had a solid showing as well and led the way for us in the final round,” said O’Neil. “She has been playing better and better and it’s just a matter of time before she breaks through and wins a tournament individually.”
After playing back-to-back tournaments over Spring Break, the Jayhawks will have a little over two weeks to recover before returning to competition at the Liz Murphy Collegiate in Athens, Georgia, April 13-15.
