Jayhawks travel to Dallas for Big 12 Championship
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s golf will travel to Dallas, Texas to compete in the Big 12 Championship April 20-22 held at the 6,215-yard, par-72 Blue course at that Dallas Athletic Club. Due to a high chance of rain Saturday, the event will actually move to a two-day tournament with 36-holes played Friday with an 8:30 a.m., shotgun start and will conclude with 18-holes Sunday.
The Dallas Athletic Club will be a new experience for most of the Jayhawks however junior Ariadna Fonseca Diaz competed at the DAC/SMU Invitational in 2016, on the Blue course, and will be competing in her third Big 12 Championship.
“I think it’s a good course for us and Ari has played it before,” said head coach Erin O’Neil. “It’s similar to what we played at Georgia but not quite as long and the greens aren’t as fast. We definitely need to be at the right places on (the greens) and get off the tee. Getting off the tee will be important to set ourselves up for our approach shots.”
Sophomore Yi-Tsen Chou will be playing in the first position after shooting 2-under (70) in the final round of the Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic last week and finishing tied for 44th. As a freshman, Chou earned all-league honors and finished ninth in the Big 12 Championship and looks to have similar success this year after having a strong season for the Jayhawks.
Sophomore Xinyun Yu and freshman Sera Tadokoro will follow Chou in the lineup and both will make their Big 12 tournament debuts. Tadokoro leads the team in top-20 finishes and boasts the lowest round-average of the season at 75.43.
Rounding out the lineup will be junior’s Chomchana Phuchanbanchob and Fonseca Diaz.
“I think to go out and give our best every day and really just focus on what is in our control and play the course and play to our strengths is crucial,” said O’Neil. “It’s a tournament and I know it’s conference but it is still a tournament just like any other one. Keeping our heads in that mindset and not playing someone else in our group or getting too caught up in score and just really sticking to our game plan and focusing on what’s in our control will be really important.”
Live scoring will be available at Big12sports.com as well as golfstat.com.
