K-State Completes Day One of Big 12 Championship
Apr 23, 2026 | Women's Golf
DALLAS, Texas – The Kansas State women's golf team turned in a first-round score of 17-over par 305 on Thursday at the 2026 Big 12 Women's Golf Championship presented by Allstate held at the par-72, 6,270-yard Dallas Athletic Club.
The 38th-ranked Wildcats are in 13th place among a 14-team field that boasts 11 squads ranked in the top 50 of the National Collegiate Golf Rankings. However, K-State is only four shots away from ninth place as they look to work back up the leaderboard over the final two days.
The Wildcats were at 12-over par midway through the first round, but they steadied the ship by playing the inward 9 at just 5-over par. The Dallas Athletic Club played 3.26 shots over par on average and yielded only eight under-par rounds among the 70 competitors on Thursday.
"Nerves got the better of the ladies starting out today," head coach Stew Burke said. "They hung in there but never really got anything going. There is a lot of golf left. We really gave ourselves a monumental task over the next two days, but I know they are up for the challenge."
Sophomore Nanami Nakashima leads the Wildcats in a tie for 23rd place with a first-round total of 2-over par 74. The Kani, Japan, native recorded three birdies on the day, including two in her first nine holes.
Fellow sophomore Kelsey Chen is one shot back of Nakashima and in a tie for 31st place. After sitting at 5-over par through her first seven holes, the Dalian, China, product regrouped by going 2-under par with four birdies the rest of the way.
Freshman Casey Kang was 1-under par after a birdie on No. 10, but she ran into trouble over her final eight holes, as she turned in a round of 5-over par 77 and is tied for 45th place.
The lone senior on the roster, Noa van Beek, rebounded from a 7-over par front 9 by parring every hole on the inward 9. She enters Friday's second round in a tie for 59th place after posting a score of 79.
Also going 7-over par over the first half of the day, freshman Keen Visavapattamawan went 1-over par on the back nine with a pair of birdies as she is tied for 64th place at 8-over par 80.
No. 36 Houston and 15th-ranked UCF were the only two teams to go under par on Thursday, as the Cougars hold a two-shot lead at 3-under par 285. Houston's Natalie Saint Germain posted an opening-round score of 3-under par 69, one shot better than a tie for second place between TCU's Sofia Barrosa Sa and Oklahoma State's Ellie Bushnell.
K-State begins second-round play at the 2026 Big 12 Championship presented by Allstate on Friday morning with tee times off the first tee starting at 8 a.m., as the Wildcats are paired with Colorado. Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd.
The 38th-ranked Wildcats are in 13th place among a 14-team field that boasts 11 squads ranked in the top 50 of the National Collegiate Golf Rankings. However, K-State is only four shots away from ninth place as they look to work back up the leaderboard over the final two days.
The Wildcats were at 12-over par midway through the first round, but they steadied the ship by playing the inward 9 at just 5-over par. The Dallas Athletic Club played 3.26 shots over par on average and yielded only eight under-par rounds among the 70 competitors on Thursday.
"Nerves got the better of the ladies starting out today," head coach Stew Burke said. "They hung in there but never really got anything going. There is a lot of golf left. We really gave ourselves a monumental task over the next two days, but I know they are up for the challenge."
Sophomore Nanami Nakashima leads the Wildcats in a tie for 23rd place with a first-round total of 2-over par 74. The Kani, Japan, native recorded three birdies on the day, including two in her first nine holes.
Fellow sophomore Kelsey Chen is one shot back of Nakashima and in a tie for 31st place. After sitting at 5-over par through her first seven holes, the Dalian, China, product regrouped by going 2-under par with four birdies the rest of the way.
Freshman Casey Kang was 1-under par after a birdie on No. 10, but she ran into trouble over her final eight holes, as she turned in a round of 5-over par 77 and is tied for 45th place.
The lone senior on the roster, Noa van Beek, rebounded from a 7-over par front 9 by parring every hole on the inward 9. She enters Friday's second round in a tie for 59th place after posting a score of 79.
Also going 7-over par over the first half of the day, freshman Keen Visavapattamawan went 1-over par on the back nine with a pair of birdies as she is tied for 64th place at 8-over par 80.
No. 36 Houston and 15th-ranked UCF were the only two teams to go under par on Thursday, as the Cougars hold a two-shot lead at 3-under par 285. Houston's Natalie Saint Germain posted an opening-round score of 3-under par 69, one shot better than a tie for second place between TCU's Sofia Barrosa Sa and Oklahoma State's Ellie Bushnell.
K-State begins second-round play at the 2026 Big 12 Championship presented by Allstate on Friday morning with tee times off the first tee starting at 8 a.m., as the Wildcats are paired with Colorado. Live results can be followed on SCOREBOARD powered by Clippd.
– k-statesports.com –
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Women's Golf, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
How to follow the Cats: For complete information on K-State Women's Golf, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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