Kansas ends day one in the desert on top

PEORIA, Ariz. – Newest Kansas women’s golfer Chomchana Phuchanbanchob, who is nicknamed “Cake,” had a career day finishing her first two rounds as a Jayhawk in a tie for second overall at the Westbrook Spring Invitational Sunday after firing a career-low 68 in the first round and a 73 in the second.
 
Phuchanbanchob ended the day with a 3-under 141 after 36 holes, tallying five birdies.
 
Head coach Erin O’Neil had high remarks about Phuchanbanchob’s immediate contribution to the Jayhawks.
 
“We honestly are not surprised at all by Cake’s performance,” O’Neil said. “She is very talented, works hard on her game and wants to win.”
 
The Jayhawks finished the first two rounds atop the leaderboard, collectively shooting an even-par 576, two strokes ahead of Big 12 Conference foe Kansas State.
 
Three Jayhawks shot in the 60s Sunday to help the Jayhawks reach the top of the leaderboard after the first two rounds of play.
 
Joining Phuchanbanchob is sophomore Ariadna Fonseca Diaz who ended day one tied for 11^th as she shot a 75 and 69 during the first and second rounds, respectively.
 
Not far behind Diaz is sophomore Victoria Chandra, who is tied for 18^th place, shooting 2-over par through two rounds. Chandra also tallied a career-low 67 in the first round.
 
Freshman Yi-Tsen Chou is currently tied for 47^th following her career-best 2-under par 70 in the first round. Xinyun Yu, competing as an individual, is tied in 50^th place.
 
Junior Pitsinee Winyarat rounds out the leaderboard for the Jayhawks and is tied for 63^rd after shooting an 80 in the first round. She improved five strokes in the second round with a 75.
 
The Jayhawks will take their two-stroke lead into the final round. Following Kansas State (+2) are Illinois (+4), Ohio State (+6) and New Mexico State (+9) to round out the top five.
 
“I am very proud of our efforts (Sunday), but we still have one more round to take care of,” O’Neil said. “(Monday) we need to continue to focus on the details that are in our control and play the course rather than getting caught up on what other teams are doing or becoming too result-oriented.”
 
The final round begins Monday with an 8:30 a.m. (MST) shotgun start.
 
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