Kawinpakorn Holds on for Fifth Individual Title of Season

Red Raider Invitational
The Rawls Course | Lubbock, Tex.
Par-72 | 6,541 Yards
Senior Yupaporn Kawinpakorn won her fifth individual title of the year.
 Final Results
Place Team Score
1 Texas Tech 867 (+3)
2 Purdue 880 (+16)
3 KANSAS 881 (+17)
4 Kansas State 889 (+25)
T5 Brigham Young 890 (+26)
T5 Iowa 890 (+26)
7 SMU 891 (+27)
8 New Mexico 894 (+30)
9 Colorado State 901 (+37)
10 Texas State 905 (+41)
11 New Mexico State 907 (+43)
12 Cal Poly 921 (+57)
13 Tulsa 943 (+79)
14 North Texas 947 (+83)
Individual Leaderboard (Top 5)
Place Name Team Score
1 Yupaporn Kawinpakorn KU 209 (-7)
2 Sarah Brown TTU 210 (-6)
3 Anna Appert Lund PU 214 (-2)
T4 Gabby Barker TTU 216 (E)
T4 Jessie Sindlinger UI 216 (E)
Kansas Leaderboard
Place Name Score
1 Yupaporn Kawinpakorn 209 (-7)
T7 Pornvipa Sakdee 218 (+2)
T40 Victoria Chandra 228 (+12)
46 Ariadna Fonseca 230 (+14)
T64 Pitsinee Winyarat  237 (+21)
T69 Kallie Gonzales (ind.) 239 (+23)

Updated Season Stats
 
LUBBOCK, Texas – Kansas women’s golf senior Yupaporn “Mook” Kawinpakorn’s name is already plastered all over the KU records book, yet she found another empty spot to leave her mark by winning the Red Raider Invitational individual title Saturday. This marked her second-consecutive and sixth career title. More astounding is that it is also her fifth individual title of the 2015-16 season, the most ever by a Jayhawk in one season, surpassing Holly Reynolds’ four victories in 1992-93.
 
“It’s been surreal watching Mook perform like she has. I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to coach her and to count her as part of our family. It’s not every day you have a student-athlete who has a true passion for golf, and for life in general, combined with a work ethic unlike any I’ve seen,” 12th-year KU head coach Erin O’Neil said. “I truly believe the best is yet to come for her.”
 
Though Kawinpakorn entered the final round with a three-stroke lead over the 75-golfer field, a surge by Sarah Brown of Texas Tech put pressure on Kawinpakorn’s cushion, with one stroke separating the two in the end. For the second-straight tournament, Kawinpakorn broke the KU record for lowest 54-hole score, recording a 209 (-7), one stroke better than her record of 210 set at the DAC/SMU Invitational last week.
 
“I’m speechless. This is unbelievable,” Kawinpakorn said. “I’ve dreamed of winning tournaments, but I never thought it would be this many in one season. All of my hard work is paying off and it feels good.”
 
The rest of the KU team had reasons to celebrate in Lubbock other than Kawinpakorn’s accomplishments. KU’s third-place finish in the 14-team event tied with its performance at the Chip-N Club Invitational for its best placement of the 2015-16 season. The Jayhawks shot a final round 304 (+16) Saturday and finished with a three-round 881 (+17), one stroke behind runner-up Purdue. Host Texas Tech ran away with the title, shooting a three-round 867 (+3). Despite the high finish, O’Neil believed the team could have walked away with a win.
 
“The team is disappointed they weren’t able to hold on and get a win today. The back nine is a tough layout, especially with the windy conditions, and we just didn’t execute shots like we needed to under pressure,” she said. “I know we will learn from our mistakes and being in this situation will motivate us to work even harder to continue to improve our games.”
 
Kansas junior Pornvipa Sakdee notched her highest finish of the year, tying for seventh with her score of 218 (+2). Freshman Victoria Chandra shot the best 54-hole score of her career with a 228 (+12) to tie for 40th. Freshman Ariadna Fonseca Diaz placed 46th after carding a 230 (+14). Sophomore Pitsinee Winyarat tied for 64th after hitting a 237 (+21). Sophomore Kallie Gonzales, competing as an individual, tied for 69th with a total of 239 (+23).
 
Kansas will next compete at the Big 12 Championship on April 22-24 at the Dominion Country Club in San Antonio, where the team hopes to continue its upward trajectory.
 
“It will be wonderful to be home for almost ten days before leaving for Big 12’s,” said O’Neil. “We will spend the time catching up on school, checking in on all parts of our game in practice and we will also get a few rounds in to determine if we need to make any changes to the lineup.”
 
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