Chou leads Kansas at Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic
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ATHENS, Ga. – Sophomore Yi-Tsen Chou carded back-to-back-to-back birdies on holes No. 16, 17 and 18 as well as a birdie on No. 7 to place her 2-under in the final round of the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic. After ending Friday in a tie for 63rd, Chou moved up 19 spots on the leaderboard to end the event in a tie for 44th and be the top finisher for Kansas.
“We were very pleased with Yi-Tsen’s final round,” said head coach Erin O’Neil. “She showed everyone that it was possible to play the course well and I think she was very determined to prove to herself as well that she could do it. She hit the ball great and made good decisions all day.”
Freshman Sera Tadokoro finished just one stroke behind Chou after shooting 3-over in the round. Tadokoro finished the event in a tie for 46th.
“Sera had a tough start on her first nine and fought back to finish strong (2-under) on her back nine which was great to see,” said O’Neil.
Playing as an individual, Xinyun Yu struggled in the final round, shooting 9-over to put her 22-over in the tournament. Yu finished 55th in the event.
Rounding out the leaderboard for the Jayhawks were Ariadna Fonseca Diaz who finished 60th. Followed by Kallie Gonzales who shot 9-over and finished in 64th. Lastly, Chomchana Phuchanbanchob shot 9-over to finish 66th in the event.
As a team, the Jayhawks shot 19-over in the final round to finish in 12th place overall.
“As a group it was a very tough tournament for us,” said O’Neil. “We played on a championship level course against top-25 schools and saw that our ball striking was on par with those teams. But, our short game and our mental games are where we are losing ground. We saw what the best players in the country did and it should motivate each person on our team to work harder and to shift our perspective on what it means to be great.”
Kansas will return to play next Friday April 20th at the Big 12 Championships in Dallas, Texas.
“We have to use what we learned this week to make us stronger for the Big 12’s,” said O’Neil.
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