photo by: Missy Minear/Kansas Athletics

Kansas senior Lily Hirst swings during the Marilynn Smith Sunflower Invitational at Lawrence Country Club on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.

The Kansas women’s golf team, which prior to this season had not won back-to-back events in a dozen years, has secured a fourth straight victory.

The Jayhawks’ team score of a 2-over 290 was good enough for first place at the Match in the Desert, an event hosted by KU at the Prospector Golf Course in Gold Canyon, Arizona, where they had come in fifth last season. The win gave the 24th-ranked Jayhawks a three-stroke margin over their next closest foe, No. 7 Arizona State, in their first event of the spring season.

As a result, the 2024-25 campaign will be the first time in program history that KU has won four events in a single season.

“Just a great effort today,” head coach Lindsay Kuhle said in a press release. “We did a really good job with our preparation the last couple weeks. All nine girls have been working really hard and are always fun to coach. I’m really proud of the effort that they put in and the preparation they did this week.”

Lily Hirst, a senior from Huddersfield in the United Kingdom, earned her first career individual medal by shooting a 3-under 69. She had previously been KU’s top finisher in its last competition, the White Sands Bahamas Fall Invitational back in October, and in the team win that started the streak, at the Golfweek Red Sky Classic in September.

“So proud of Lily for winning her first college tournament,” Kuhle said. “This course had firm and fast greens and you had to play smart and keep the ball in the correct positions and they did that.”

On Monday, built her advantage with a string of early birdies and then parred every hole on the back nine. That was sufficient to get her the victory despite a late charge from No. 17 Texas A&M’s Kynadie Adams, who finished one stroke behind Hirst, tied with ASU’s Isla McDonald-O’Brien. The top seven competitors, including KU senior Lauren Clark at an even 72, finished separated by just three strokes.

Fellow senior Johanna Ebner carded a 74, aided by an eagle on the 13th hole, while junior Amy DeKock shot a 75 and sophomore Lyla Louderbaugh came in at 76. Four younger Jayhawks competed as part of a “Kansas B” team that finished in last place, led by a 74 from freshman Ebba Norstedt.

Other schools in competition included No. 33 Purdue, No. 27 Baylor, No. 39 San Jose State and Eastern Michigan.

Next up for KU is the 2025 PDI Intercollegiate in Orlando, Florida, beginning on Sunday.