March 5, 2012
USF Invitational Round Two Results
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s golf team, led by junior Chase Parker, put together one of its best rounds of the year on Monday, shooting a team score of 4-under-par (284) to move into fourth at the USF Invitational with one round to play.
“Overall, it was a solid day of golf for the Wildcats,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “The guys did an admirable job of keeping their poise and finishing off a good round. I’m looking forward to the final round and seeing if we can continue to improve.”
Playing at the Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club (par 72, 7,153 yards), Kentucky shot its lowest round of the young spring season. Parker led the way for the Wildcats with a career-low tying round of 5-under par 67.
“Chase Parker showed the patience of a veteran en route to a superb 67,” Craig said.
After bogeying the opening hole, Parker got in a groove that he carried with him throughout the remainder of the round. The Augusta, Ga., native birdied the par-5 second hole to get back to even par for the day, and picked up two more birdies on Nos. 5 and 8 to make the turn at 2-under-par (34) and even-par for the tournament. On the back nine, Parker did not bogey a single hole and birdied three consecutive holes in Nos. 13, 14 and 15 to come in with a 5-under-par 67.
Parker’s career-best tying round comes just two rounds after carding a 5-under-par 67 in the final round of the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate on Feb. 21. Through two rounds of play, Parker is now at 3-under-par and sits in seventh place overall.
Also shooting in red figures Monday was Cody Martin. A sophomore, Martin improved by four strokes in his second round to shoot a 1-under-par 71 and move from a tie for 35th to a tie for 24th.
Joining Martin at 2-over-par for the tournament is freshman David Snyder. The Wildcats’ leader after the first round, Snyder shot his second consecutive round of 1-over-par 73, and finds himself tied with Martin for 24th. Snyder opened his round on a sour note, quadruple-bogeying the par 4 first. The rookie from Somerset, Ky., showed his maturity though, going bogey-free for the remainder of his round while also recording three birdies.
Sophomore Stephen Powers also shot a 1-over-par 73 in the second round. After opening the tournament with a 2-over-par 74, Powers now sits in a tie for 30th at 3-over-par.
Junior Joseph Barr shot a 4-over-par 76 Monday and is now in a tie for 43rd at 6-over-par.
Sophomore Matthew Anderson rebounded from his first round score, improving by a dozen shots Monday en route to shooting an even-par 72 as an individual. Anderson is in a tie for 71st overall.
Playing in its second tournament of the spring season, the Wildcats are one of 17 schools competing in the tournament hosted by USF. Joining UK and USF is Arkansas State, UCF, Cincinnati, DePaul, Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Florida Gulf Coast, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, Marquette, Middle Tennessee, North Carolina, Troy and Villanova.
Kentucky will begin play Tuesday with Barr teeing off from the first at 8:50 a.m. ET. Powers, Snyder, Martin and Parker will follow, respectively, in 10-minute intervals. Anderson will begin his third round from the 10th tee at 9:50 a.m.
Fans wishing to follow along with final round results as they come into the clubhouse can access live results at Golfstat.com.
For all news and information on the Kentucky men’s golf team, including updates and recaps following each day of the USF Invitational, follow the Wildcats on Twitter at “UKmensgolf” and go to UKathletics.com.
USF Invitational
Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club
Par 72 – 7,153 yards
Through Two Rounds
7. Chase Parker – 74, 67 – 141 (-3)
T24. Cody Martin – 75, 71 – 146 (+2)
T24. David Snyder – 73, 73 – 146 (+2)
T30. Stephen Powers – 74, 73 – 147 (+3)
T43. Joseph Barr – 74, 76 – 150 (+6)
*T71. Matthew Anderson – 84, 72 – 156 (+12)
4. KENTUCKY – 295, 284 – 579 (+3)
