KU Women’s Golf in Third after Round One in South Carolina

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Behind a career-low 4-under 68 by sophomore Pornvipa Sakdee Sunday, the Kansas women’s golf team sits third after the first round of the Lady Paladin Invitational at the Furman University Golf Course.
 
Furman, the host school, leads the event after shooting a 2-under 286 on Sunday. Furman is two shots ahead of second-place Wake Forest (E, 288) and three ahead of Kansas which shot a 289 (+1) in the 18-team field. Big 12 foe Texas Tech (293) and Florida State (293) are tied for fourth.
 
“I am very pleased with how we played today,” KU head coach Erin O’Neil said. “We made lots of birdies and played very solid overall. However, we did give a few shots away on par fives that we need to capitalize on in the remaining rounds.”
 
Sakdee, who won the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational individual title earlier this month, recorded seven of KU’s 17 combined birdies Sunday and leads the 96-golfer field by one shot over Wake Forest’s Sierra Sims and Yale’s Jennifer Peng at -3 (69). Her 68 was one shot better than her previous personal KU low of 69 shot last year in the final round of the Palmetto Intercollegiate, an event KU won and Sakdee finished fourth individually.
 
“Faii (Sakdee) was in the zone making seven birdies during her round and is off to a great start,” O’Neil said. “Gabby (DiMarco) was close to under par as well and gave us another steady round.”
 
KU senior Gabriella DiMarco carded three birdies en route to an even-par 72 Sunday. She is tied for 12^th overall with seven other golfers. Fellow senior Minami Levonowich shot a season-low 74 (+2) and is tied for 24^th, while junior Yupaporn Kawinpakorn is one behind Levonowich after shooting a 75 (+3), which is tied for 32^nd. Senior Michelle Woods ended her day with a birdie, yet shot 84 (+12) and is tied for 89^th. Junior Mackenzie Thayer, who is playing as an individual, carded a 78 (+6) and is tied for 57^th entering Tuesday’s second round.
 
“The competition is close so we will need to focus on taking it one shot at a time and sticking to our game plan for the course,” O’Neil said.
 
Kansas is competing in its third tournament of the 2014-15 season and the Jayhawks have finished in the top three of the two previous events – second at the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational (Sept. 8-9) and third last week at the Minnesota Invitational.
 
The second of three rounds at the Paladin Invitational will be played Monday, Sept. 22, with the final 18 holes on Tuesday, Sept. 23.
 
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.