The Kansas State Women’s Golf team continued their solid start to their season, finishing in a tie for second at the Oklahoma Intercollegiate held at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson.
The Wildcats tied with Eastern Washington and trailed the University of Florida, which paced the tournament, shooting 13 over par. The Wildcats were competing with Florida until the end, but were unable to keep pace with the Gators.
“We are a little disappointed with the result and how we finished both days,” K-State head coach Stew Burke said. “This young group is going to learn to be more comfortable near the lead, especially those players who shared the individual lead at some point over the tournament.”
As for the ‘Cats, they shot 20 over par, shooting 10 over for both round one and round two. The Wildcats were the top-placing Big 12 team, finishing just above Baylor, Oklahoma State, and also ahead of tournament host Oklahoma.
Only one player for the entire tournament shot under par, which was Megan Propeck from Florida, who shot one under. The weather conditions made it tough for the players, as pars were hard to come by.
“The ladies battled hard all week. It was certainly a total team performance,” Burke said.
The leader for the Wildcats was Noa van Beek, as she finished in a tie for fourth place, shooting four under for the tournament. Van Beek shot four over in the first round, but played good golf in the second round, shooting even par, which was impressive given the conditions.
Thitaree [Keen] Visavapattamawan and Jiarui [Kelsey] Chen had identical rounds as they shot an even par on the first day, and both shot five over par on the second day. Their solid first day landed them both in a tie for 12th place in the tournament.
The other Wildcat placer, ShiXin [Casey] Kang, finished 25th place at nine over par. In round two, Kang had an eagle on hole 14, being one of four players to do so in the tournament.
“I am delighted for Casey getting her first even-par collegiate round today and holing a big putt on her last green to help us tie for a second,” Burke said.
The second-place finish is the best for the Wildcats’ golf team so far this season, and the team achieved it despite competition from all over the country and tough conditions.
The Wildcats will host their next golf tournament, competing at Colbert Hills Golf Course in Manhattan. The tournament will be a two-day event stretching from Oct. 20 – 21.
