Wildcats Ready for Final Challenge of Regular Season

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GASTONIA, N.C. – Coming off a good showing where four Wildcats finished among the top 25 individuals, the Kentucky men’s golf team will close out its regular season slate on April 10-11 with the Gary Koch Invitational at Gaston Country Club. UK and Auburn will host the event.  

 

 

“It is a privilege to co-host the Gary Koch Invitational with Auburn. Coach Clinard and I both grew up at Gaston Country Club and have many fond memories of learning to play golf on that terrific course. Our teams are in for a treat playing on these demanding and difficult greens. Gaston Country Club is a course that requires strategy, especially on the approach shots. We are ready for a wonderful week at a place that is special to me.”

 

 

Cooper Musselman saw his seventh top-25 finish of the season at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate thanks to a pair of under-par rounds. The junior leads the team in scoring average at 71.7 and top-10 finishes with four in his eight events of the 2016-17 season. 

 

All-American Tyler “Chip” McDaniel matched Musselman in a tie for 24th. The Manchester, Kentucky, native enters the invitational second on the team in scoring average at 71.8 and has five top-20 finishes during his junior campaign. McDaniel and Musselman both hold the team’s season-low 18-hole round (67).

 

Stephen Stallings appears to be getting back in form after he finished inside the top 20 (T17) for the first time in the last three events and his fourth top-20 placement this season. He was one of two Wildcats that finished under-par at Bulls Bay.

 

Fred Allen Meyer led the way for UK in its last tournament and finished tied for 12th place, his third-highest placement of the season. After a 1-under par round on the first day, Meyer followed with a steady performance on day two at even par and another 71 on the final day that got him to 2-under par for the event. The sophomore has two top-10 and four top-20 finishes this season. 

 

Lukas Euler looks to rebound after he struggled at Bulls Bay, but, as he has already shown this season, the sophomore is no stranger to resilience. After finishing in a tie for 45th at the Puerto Rico Classic, Euler came back the next week at the General Hackler Championship and tied for ninth place. 

 

Matt Liston will make his fourth consecutive appearance this season, third as an individual. He tied for 62nd at Bulls Bay. Fadhli Soetarso, who last tied for 24th place at the Steelwood Intercollegiate, and Evan Cox, who tied for 18th at Wolf Run, will join Liston among the individual field. 

 

 

UK won the Gary Koch Invitational in 2004, placed second in 2005 and third in 2015. 

 

This year’s field presents another challenge that features No. 13 Virginia, No. 20 Auburn, No. 43 N.C. State, Charleston Southern, Coastal Carolina, Gardner-Webb, Jacksonville State, Lamar, Southern Illinois, Louisiana-Monroe, Richmond, and Wofford.

  

 

The 18-hole “Gaston” course at the Gaston Country Club facility in Gastonia, North Carolina features 7,042 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72. The course rating is 74.4 and it has a slope rating of 135 on Bermuda grass.  Designed by Ellis Maples, the Gaston golf course opened in 1958. 

 

 

UK Lineup: 

1 – Cooper Musselman

2 – Chip McDaniel

3 – Stephen Stallings

4 – Lukas Euler

5 – Fred Allen Meyer

Matt Liston*

Fadhli Soetarso*

Evan Cox*

 

* competing as individual