LEXINGTON, Ky. – Junior Pimchanok Kawil birdied two of her final three holes and is tied for first place with a three-under par 69 following Friday's opening round of Kentucky's Bettie Lou Evans Invitational. Kawil's play helped Toledo register a team score of nine-over par 297, 13 strokes behind first-place Notre Dame.
 
Kawil opened her day with bogeys on two of her first three holes and was at one-over par at the turn. She then birdied two of her next three holes and tied for the tournament lead with six birdies in her round.
 
"I'm really thrilled about our performance today," Head Coach Nicole Hollingsworth said. "We worked very hard in practice over the last week because we knew how long and challenging the course we were going to be playing was. It was really fun to watch Pim shoot a three-under today, and I can't wait to see us play again tomorrow."
 
Sophomore Saranlak Tumfong is tied for 29^th place at three-over par 75, while junior Pinyada Kuvanun is tied for 36^th place at four-over par 76. Tumfong and Kuvanun both registered solid back nines at one-over par.
 
Junior Hannah Kochendoerfer also finished strong by posting pars on her last six holes and is tied for 46^th place at five-over 77.
 
Rounding out the Rocket lineup is sophomore Thunpijja Sukkasem in a 93^rd-place tie at 14-over par 86.
 
Kawil is joined at the top of the leaderboard by a pair of members of the host Wildcats, Grace Rose and Ale Walker. A pair of Notre Dame golfers, Maddie Rose Hamilton and Emma Albrecht, are joined by Wisconsin's Jessica Reinecke one stroke out of the lead at two-under par 70.
 
The tournament was originally scheduled for 18 holes on Friday, Saturday and Sunday but is scheduled to wrap up with 36 holes tomorrow due to inclement weather forecasted for Sunday.
 
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Notre Dame 284 (-4); 2. Kentucky 288 (E); 3. Penn State 290 (+2); 4. Wisconsin 293 (+5); 5. Illinois 295 (+7); 6. Toledo 297 (+9); 7. Indiana 299 (+11); T8. Grand Canyon 305 (+17); T8. Cincinnati 305 (+17); T8. Bradley 305 (+17); T11. Murray State 308 (+20); T11. Ball State 308 (+20); T13. Illinois State 310 (+22); T13. Fresno State 310 (+22); 15. Akron 311 (+23); 16. Western Kentucky 314 (+26)

TOP FIVE INDIVIDUALS
T1. Pimchanok Kawil (UT) 69 (-3); T1. Grace Rose (UK) 69 (-3); T1. Ale Walker (UK) 69 (-3); T4. Maddie Rose Hamilton (UND) 70 (-2); T4. Emma Albrecht (UND) 70 (-2); T4. Jessica Reinecke (UW) 70 (-2)
 
TOLEDO INDIVIDUALS
T1. Pimchanok Kawil 69 (-3); T29. Saranlak Tumfong 75 (+3); T36. Pinyada Kuvanun 76 (+4); T46. Hannah Kochendoerfer 77 (+5); T93. Thunpijja Sukkasem 86 (+14)