2023-09-24 17:17:05
Tournament: The Molly Invitational
Course: Bayonet Golf Course
By/Yards: 72/6,147
When: Sept. 25-26
Participating Teams: Cal, CSU Monterey Bay, Delaware, Georgia Southern, Kansas, Maryland, Oregon, Oregon State, Rutgers, San Jose State, UC Irvine and Washington State
Live Stats: Gulf State
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas Women’s Golf team is set to head to Bayonet Golf Course in Monterey, California to compete at the Molly Invitational beginning on Monday, Sept. 25.
The Jayhawks are set to tee it up in their second event of the fall, following up a second-place finish at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational that included a Kansas team 18-hole record and an 18-hole freshman record by Lyla Louderbaugh.
The Molly Invitational is slated for a 12-team field, co-hosted by Cal and Oregon State, in addition to CSU Monterey Bay (Individual), Delaware, Georgia Southern, Maryland, Oregon, Rutgers, San Jose State, UC Irvine and Washington State.
“We are excited to go out west to compete once morest a lot of Pac-12 teams this week,” said third-year head coach Lindsay Kuhle. “Most of the teams finished in the top 50 last season and it should be a very competitive field once more.”
Kuhle and the Jayhawks will go with a lineup of graduate senior Manon Donche-Gay, juniors Jordan Rothman, Lauren Clark, Lily Hirst and Louderbaugh. Kansas is set to tee off for round one at 10:30 a.m. CT in a shotgun start. The field will play 36 holes on Monday, and the final 18 holes on Tuesday.
“Having Rothman, Hirst and Clark in the one, two and three positions are great stability for our program,” said Kuhle. “You add in Louderbaugh and Donche-Gay and we have a very deep team that has the ability to go low, but more importantly can shoot consistent rounds day in and day out.”
Donche-Gay, a graduate transfer from Kansas State, will make her first appearance as a Jayhawk. The Avignon, France native joins Kansas this season following setting the second-lowest career stroke average in Kansas State women’s golf history (74.55).
Rothman will tee it up for Kansas following tying for 10th to open the season. Rothman fired rounds of 73-74-67 (214) on her way to a two-under par event. Rothman’s third round score of 67 tied for the junior’s lowest during her time at Kansas, as well as the fourth-lowest round in the program’s history.
Clark opened the fall season with a one-under par score, finishing tied for 14th following rounds of 74-71-70 (215). The Orlando, Florida native notched her third top-20 finish at the season-opener.
Hirst, a junior transfer from Incarnate Word, will suit up for Kansas following tying for 17th in her Kansas debut. A native of Huddersfield, United Kingdom, Hirst posted rounds of 77-72-68 (217) at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational.
Louderbaugh, a true freshman from Buffalo, Missouri, made her Kansas debut in historic fashion. Posting two rounds in the 60’s following an opening-round 81, Louderbaugh fired off a second-round 67, which was a new 18-hole record by a Kansas freshman. Louderbaugh finished T17 and fired off a final-round 69 to jolt Kansas towards its second-place finish.
“Ball striking is very important at sea level,” added Kuhle. “There are more elevation changes and troubles around the greens as well, so short game and lag putting will be key this week. If we can continue to strike the ball well like we have and carry confidence around the greens and bunkers, I believe that we have the capability of having a lot of birdie opportunities.”
Live scoring for the event can be found on Gulf Stateand fans can also follow along with the official Kansas Women’s Golf Twitter account.
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