Jayhawks Look to Continue Improvement at Chip-N-Club Invitational
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas women’s golf team will be bringing everyone to the par-72, 6,105-yard Lincoln Country Club to compete in the Chip-N-Club Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska, October 5-6. KU will look to build upon its strong play at the Schooner Classic after a two-week rest.
“(The break) was kind of nice. We had played three (events) in a row and they had been in school for maybe 10 days before our first one. It was good, especially for the freshman, to be here and go to class,” KU head coach Erin O’Neil said. “We could work on some things with their game a little bit more and have some time to fine-tune. We’re excited to get back on the road this weekend.”
Representing Kansas in the 13-team competition will be senior Yupaporn Kawinpakorn, freshmen Ariadna Fonseca Diaz and Laine Evans and sophomores Pitsinee Winyarat and MacKenzie Sexe. This lineup will compete against Bellevue, Creighton, Illinois State, Missouri State, host Nebraska, Nebraska-Kearney, North Dakota State, Notre Dame, Omaha, South Dakota, South Dakota State and UMKC. KU freshman Victoria Chandra and sophomore Kallie Gonzales will compete as individuals. Kansas previously faced Nebraska in the Marilynn Smith/Sunflower Invitational. KU placed three spots and 17 strokes ahead of the Huskers in the event.
Several Jayhawks will be following up on career-best outings in Norman, Oklahoma at the Schooner Classic where they finished fourth as a team. Kawinpakorn achieved her second outright tournament win along with the KU 18-hole record, further cementing her legacy among the KU greats. Fonseca Diaz flashed her potential with her first top-5 finish. Sexe shot a career-best 18-hole score for the second-straight competition and will look to extend the streak to three. Despite the success at the Schooner Classic, the Jayhawks have spent the two-week break meticulously working on several aspects of their games.
“We’ve been doing more individual practices, spending more time with each individual. Everybody has different things they need to work on,” O’Neil said. “We’ve been doing swing mechanics with some girls, short game with others and doing pressure situations. It’s been nice to give them some individual time and work on those areas.”
Gonzales will be carrying the Folds of Honor golf bag for the Jayhawks. The golf bag will be auctioned off at the end of the season and all proceeds will benefit the Katzenberger family of Parkville, Missouri.
The Chip-N-Club Invitational will play two rounds October 5 and the final round on October 6. The first 36 holes will start with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. and the last 18 will begin the following day with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. Live stats can be found at BirdieFire.com
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