HOCKLEY, Texas – The Kansas women’s golf team finished in seventh place at the 2024 Big 12 Women’s Golf Championship at Houston Oaks Country Club Saturday afternoon, shooting team scores of 297-289-290–876 (+24) against a loaded 13-team field.
Kansas’ seventh-place finish at the Big 12 Championship ties for the team’s best finish at the conference tournament over the last 10 years. Kansas has finished seventh on four other occasions (’16, ’17, ’19 and ’22), with the program’s best finish in the Big 12 era being fourth in 2014.
“I’m really proud of our finish today,” Kansas head coach Lindsay Kuhle said. “We started on some tough holes and didn’t get off to a great start but finished really well. We made some birdies and dug deep, which we needed to do. Lauren (Clark) to birdie three of her last four holes was huge.”
Texas won the 54-hole event with a score of -1, followed by Iowa State (+11), Kansas State (+14), Baylor (+16) and Texas Tech (+17) to round out the top five of the leaderboard. Iowa State’s Liyana Durisic and Karisa Chul-Ak-Sorn claimed individual co-medalist honors at -6.
Kansas was led by sophomore Amy DeKock, who had only competed in three rounds for Kansas this season before leading the Jayhawks in scoring at the conference championship. DeKock finished T12 at +3 after shooting rounds of 74-69-73.
“Amy had another solid round,” Kuhle added about DeKock’s performance. “She really hasn’t been in our lineup this year but stepped up at the end and played hard for KU. Incredible performance by her all three days.”
Junior Lauren Clark finished T17 at +4, joining DeKock in the Top 20. Clark climbed eight spots in the leaderboard after posting a one-under round of 70 for Kansas on Saturday. Clark was +2 for most of the round but birdied three of her last five holes.
Senior Hanna Hawks finished +9 and in a tie for 33rd. Hawks carded a solid, even-par round of 71 that consisted of two birdies and two bogeys.
Junior Jordan Rothman finished T37 at +11, while junior Lily Hirst finished T41 at +12.
“We know we’ve got a lot of work to do,” Kuhle added. “You can always work harder and prepare even more. That is what we will be focusing on these next few weeks before regionals.”
FINAL STANDINGS
T12. DeKock, +3
T17. Clark, +4
T33. Hawks, +9
T37. Rothman, +11
T41. Hirst, +12
UP NEXT
Kansas will look to continue its season as NCAA Regional selections will be announced Wednesday, April 24 at 1:00 p.m. CT on the GOLF Channel. Should KU be selected, it would mark the second-consecutive year the team will make an NCAA Regional appearance. In 2014 and 2023, Kansas was an NCAA Regional at-large selection. Kansas finished eighth in last year’s Regional, hosted in Athens, Georgia. Regional play will take place May 6-8 at six regional sites.
REGIONAL SITES
Auburn, Alabama – Auburn University Club (Auburn, host)
Bermuda Run, North Carolina – Bermuda Run Country Club (Wake Forest, host)
Bryan, Texas – Traditions Club (Texas A&M, host)
Cle Elum, Washington – Tumblecreek Club (Washington, host)
Lansing, Michigan – Forest Acres Golf Course (Michigan State, host)
Las Vegas, Nevada – Spanish Trail Country Club (UNLV, host)
