RCW: Sport Spotlight 4.9 (Women's Golf)
.#KUgolf finishes 9th. Sera ends strong at 1-under for the final round, just 1 of 6 in the field of 90 to shoot under par for the final 18. pic.twitter.com/CxirtkLJIB
— Kansas Women’s Golf (@KUWomensGolf) October 24, 2017
Haunted forest to start the trip! #KUgolf ??
A post shared by Kansas Women’s Golf (@kuwomensgolf) on Oct 20, 2017 at 6:22pm PDT
Kansas ended its fall season Tuesday with a ninth-place finish at the Palmetto Intercollegiate. The final round was highlighted by freshman Sera Tadokoro, who carded a 1-under (71) in her final round. Tadokoro and sophomore Yi-Tsen Chou both posted a 25th-place finish.
Tadokoro has shown steady improvement throughout her first collegiate season.
“Sera has so much potential. Her long game is definitely her strength and she hits a lot of greens anytime she plays,” said head coach Erin O’Neil. “It really came down to putting for her and some mental distractions; otherwise, she could have shot under par for the entire tournament. It’s exciting to have a freshman come in with her level of competitive spirit. I think it’s only a matter of time before we see her consistently at the top of the leaderboard.”
The Jayhawks had many highlights in their fall season including a team win at the Chip-N-Club Invitational held in Lincoln, Nebraska.
“Winning in Nebraska was a fantastic boost to the team’s confidence and showed them what they are truly capable of accomplishing,” said O’Neil.
Kansas has had multiple players show hints of excellence this season. Senior Pitsinee Winyarat was the top finisher for the Jayhawks in the first two events and recorded a career-best fourth-place finish at the Marilynn Smith Invitational.
Kansas will not return to play until February 18 at the Sugar Bowl Invitational, but O’Neil is excited to begin work in the offseason.
“We need to continue to improve our discipline in our decision-making process and managing our thoughts and emotions during a round,” O’Neil said. “One of our strengths is that we don’t give up which is extremely valuable trait for a team to have. We will use that strength as we move into the offseason to continue fine tuning all parts of our golf games so that we are ready to make things happen this spring.”
