CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of Kentucky women’s golf program is back in action this weekend after nearly four weeks since its last tournament. The Wildcats will return to the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational at the Finley Golf Club in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, from Oct. 17-19.

Kentucky will tee off in the first round on Friday at 9:54 a.m. ET off No. 1, paired with South Carolina and Auburn.

Fifteen teams make up the field, including No. 2 Wake Forest, No. 13 South Carolina, host No. 16 North Carolina, No. 18 Auburn, No. 21 Duke, RV NC State, RV Purdue, Florida International, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami, Michigan, UNCW, Virginia Tech and Rollins, which is a team ranked No. 22 in Division II.

It will mark the program’s sixth appearance in the last seven seasons of the Ruth’s Chris, placing in the top five in three of the last four seasons. The Wildcats won the team championship just three years ago, while Jensen Castle also was crowned the individual champion the same year in 2022. The Cats formed a 4-under-par 860 to top the team leaderboard, marking their eighth-best, 54-hole team total in program history at the time.

Kentucky will travel its same lineup from the previous two tournaments this season, including junior Cathryn Brown followed by sophomore Raleygh Simpson, Anastasia Hekkonen, C.A. Carter and Karlie Campbell.

Through two events, that group is combining for a 290.0 (+2.0) scoring average as a team in 2025-26. They hauled in a third-place finish at the Folds of Honor Collegiate and a second-place finish at The Johnie Imes Invitational, while even more impressive, they collected individual titles at each tournament thanks to Brown and Hekkonen.

Brown, a senior from Eddyville, Kentucky, is averaging a 70.0 scoring average through five rounds, while Hekkonen, a sophomore from Helsinki, Finland, boasts a 70.6 stroke average through six rounds. They have both put up some impressive scores this season, with Brown collecting a 64 (-8) in Columbia, Missouri, and Hekkonen beginning the season with a 66 (-6) in Grand Haven, Michigan.

The last time UK had more than one individual championship in a single season was 2018-19, when Leonie Bettel collected three trophies and Rikke Svejgård Nielsen won one. That also was the last time UK won back-to-back individual championships.

Hekkonen and Simpson will be playing in the Ruth’s Chris for the first time this weekend, while Brown, Carter and Campbell all played in the event last year. It marked Campbell’s career debut. Brown was the top finisher of the three, putting together a 72, 75 and 75 on the par-70 golf course to finish T40.

Big Blue Nation is encouraged to follow live scoring throughout this season’s three-day tournament here.

For the latest on the Kentucky women’s golf team, follow the team on X, Facebook, and Instagram, as well as on the web at UKathletics.com.