Kansas State women’s golf ventured to Dallas, Texas, April 23-25 for the Big 12 Championship. The Wildcats were looking to cap off a successful season after having multiple top-five finishers, both as a team and individually.
However, things didn’t go as planned as K-State was unable to find its groove all weekend, shooting 50 over par as a team and landing in 13th place out of 14 teams. The 13th-place finish was their worst of the season and it came at an inopportune time — the Big 12 Championship.
“Today was another battle,” K-State head coach Stew Burke said. “The ladies fought hard this week without their best stuff, and that’s all I can ask.”
The Big 12 has stiff competition with 11 of the 14 teams ranked in the top 50 for women’s golf. The three teams not ranked all still finished ahead of the Wildcats, showing how deep and competitive the conference is and how cruel it can be when a team has a bad day.
In the first round, K-State shot 17 over par as a team and were sitting in 13th place, inevitably staying in the same place when they finished. In the second round things got worse, as K-State shot a 19-over-par round and the team behind them — the Colorado Buffaloes — had a better day and passed K-State to put the Wildcats in last place heading to the final round.
While the last round was anything but pretty for K-State, shooting 14 over par, Colorado, on the other hand, shot 29 over par and fell back to last place, letting the Wildcats place 13th in a disappointing weekend.
The best individual performer for K-State was Kelsey Chen, who finished in 19th place at four over par. Chen’s top 20 finish was her 9th this season, which was the most for K-State, as she played consistent, solid golf all year.
Chen has shown the ability to compete at the top as well, winning the Puerto Rico Classic in February and finishing in second place at the Mountain View Collegiate just a few weeks ago.
Iowa State won the tournament by shooting an impressive five under par for the entire weekend. The Cyclones were the only team under par and won by six strokes over Houston to finish in second place.
With the Big 12 loaded this year, most teams should hear their name called in the NCAA tournament to continue on their season. The Wildcats are looking forward to it, but first have some time off to regroup and get back on the right track.
“As disappointed as we are with this event, we still have golf ahead of us and can reflect properly after the season,” Burke said. “We have a quick turnaround for the US Open qualifier and then some time at home to prepare for Regionals.”
Regionals are May 11-13, as K-State competes in its second straight NCAA Tournament.
