Kawinpakorn Conquers Last Year’s Demons, Sets KU Record and Wins DAC/SMU Invitational

DALLAS – For the second-straight year, Kansas senior golfer Yupaporn “Mook” Kawinpakorn finished first in the DAC/SMU Invitational after 54-holes. This year though, she was able to take sole ownership of the individual title. One year after losing the individual medal in a playoff, Kawinpakorn dominated the 84-golfer field, beating out a trio of golfers tied for second-place by five strokes. In her three trips to the DAC/SMU Invitational, Kawinpakorn has recorded three top-10 finishes.
 
“Mook fought hard today to get another win. We are so proud of her,” 12th-year KU head coach Erin O’Neil said. “The (Dallas Athletic Club) sets up well for Mook and she feels very comfortable on the greens. Getting a win here is a great confidence boost going into the end of our spring season.”

In winning her fifth career individual title, her fourth this year, Kawinpakorn set a new school record with her 54-hole score of 210 (-6), breaking the previous record of 211 she set at the 2014 Big 12 Championship. She trails only Holly Reynolds’ seven career titles for most by a Jayhawk in program history.
 
“It has been a great semester for me since (the fall season) and I’d like to keep it up,” Kawinpakorn said. “We learned a lot from the past couple of tournaments, which helped us to perform better this week in terms of course management and mindsets.”
 
Kawinpakorn and her teammates combined to shoot 298 (+10) in the third round, KU’s best round at the tournament. KU junior Pornvipa Sakdee carded a 73 (+1) to move up to tie for 36^th. Freshman Ariadna Fonseca Diaz tied for 53^rd after shooting a 76 (+4), a score shared by freshman Victoria Chandra, who improved to tie for 69^th. Fellow freshman Laine Evans finished 84^th after carding a 54-hole score of 257 (+41). The improved third round allowed KU to move up to a tie for seventh place with Kansas State, with scores of 908 (+44) 40 strokes behind champion Oklahoma State’s 868 (+4).

“The team did much better today with keeping their emotions in check and making better decisions. There were a lot of Big 12 teams here this week and it was a great opportunity to see how we compare,” said O’Neil. “There is no doubt we have the ability to win. If continue to take care of the little things that are in our control, we will find success.”
 
Kansas will next play Texas Tech Invitational from April 8-9. Sophomores Kallie Gonzales and MacKenzie Sexe will participate in the Kansas City Shootout at individuals April 4-5.
 
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