Matthews Goes Low, Arkansas Second
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Redshirt freshman Brooke Matthews fired a career-best 68 in final round action leading No. 7 Arkansas women’s golf to a runner-up finish at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, on Monday.
Matthews and the Razorbacks tied No. 13 Northwestern for the best round of the day with a 3-under 285 on the River Course at Rio Mar Country Club. The Razorbacks shot 289-296-285=870 finishing just four shots out of the lead. The performance is the fourth top-3 finish in five events this season for Arkansas.
The Razorback seniors finished 1, 2, 3 for Arkansas behind Maria Fassi’s T-4th place. Fassi carded an even-par 216 with rounds of 71-73-72 and was seven back of the leaders.
Kaylee Benton finished T-7th with rounds of 71-73-73=217 followed by Dylan Kim who was T-27th shooting 69-75-79=223. Matthews’ final round moved her up to a T-34th shooting 78-78-68=224 and senior Cara Gorlei rounded out the Razorback scores with 78-75-72=225. Gorlei finished T-40th.
Freshman Ximena Gonzalez, playing as an individual in her second collegiate event, opened with her best round as a Razorback with a 73 on Sunday. She added rounds of 74-75 for a 222 and a T-24th overall.
From Shauna Taylor
We came up short of our goal this week, but the takeaway is that everyone contributed in a big way all three days. I’m really proud of how Brooke and Cara bounced back today to really help us have a chance to win at the end. As always, Dylan, Maria, and Kaylee were rock solid each day. We have some great things to come home and work on and look we look forward to getting back to practice. I’m also proud of Ximena this week. She did some great things on the golf course and it will only help prepare her for our next event.
Razorback Lineup
| 2 | Arkansas | 289-296-285=870 | +6 |
| T4 | Maria Fassi | 71-73-72=216 | E |
| T7 | Kaylee Benton | 71-73-73=217 | +1 |
| T27 | Dylan Kim | 69-75-79=223 | +7 |
| T34 | Brooke Matthews | 78-78-68=224 | +8 |
| T40 | Cara Gorlei | 78-75-72=225 | +9 |
| T24 | Ximena Gonzalez (Ind) | 73-74-75=222 | +6 |
The Field
| 1 | Kent State | 292-288-286=866 | +2 |
| 2 | Arkansas | 289-296-285=870 | +6 |
| 3 | Virginia Tech | 298-291-289=878 | +14 |
| 4 | Northwestern | 302-292-285=879 | +15 |
| 5 | East Carolina | 297-291-294=882 | +18 |
| 6 | TCU | 290-301-292=883 | +19 |
| 7 | Purdue | 292-296-299=887 | +23 |
| 8 | Georgia | 299-293-298=890 | +26 |
| 9 | Iowa State | 304-297-290=891 | +27 |
| 10 | Augusta | 300-301-294=895 | +31 |
| 11 | Maryland | 307-292-298=897 | +33 |
| 12 | Indiana | 300-303-300=903 | +39 |
| 13 | North Carolina State | 300-307-298=905 | +41 |
| 14 | Nebraska | 304-310-301=915 | +51 |
Up Next
Arkansas returns home for qualifying before the second spring event at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate March 8-10. The event takes place at Long Cove Club in Hilton Head Island, S.C. The Razorbacks and Blessings Golf Club host the 2019 Women’s and Men’s NCAA Championships in May. Check out NCAAGolf19.com for more information and volunteer opportunities.
More Information
Keep up with all of the latest news and information and get behind the scenes looks into our program on our social media accounts. Follow us on Twitter at @RazorbackWGolf and check out our Facebook page “Razorback Women’s Golf.” Stats, news and player information can be found at ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
