SAINT GEORGE, Utah — The Kentucky men?s golf team kicked off its spring season with a clutch victory at the Pat Hicks Invitational. The Wildcats shot a 280 in the final round to finish at 14-under par for the tournament, securing UK?s first tournament title of the season, finishing with a score of 562 (282-280).
?This was a great way for us to start the spring semester,? said coach Brian Craig. ?We had excellent consistency throughout the lineup and some clutch play down the stretch when the competition was close. Hopefully, this will lead to a strong semester as a team.?
Freshman James Kania shot a team-leading four-under par 140 for the tournament, finishing tied for eighth overall. Over the course of the two-day tournament, Kania’s statistics included one eagle, eight birdies and 21 pars on the par 72, 6,781 yard course.
Kentucky led the tournament in several categories including par-5 scoring, firing a 12-under on all par-5 holes with a 4.70 stroke average and finished first on par-4 stroke average with 3.95. To combine with these impressive stats, Kentucky had a tournament high of three eagles. Junior Andy Winings finished the tournament in second place overall for average scores on par-5 holes with 4.38 stroke average.
Cale Barr entered into his final spring season as a Wildcat besting his career-low round of 69, setting a new career high with a thundering 5-under par 67.
Senior Brad Doster led Kentucky in pars with 28 and finished the tournament tied for 16th place with a final score of 143 (72-71). Fellow Kentucky teammates, sophomore Brian Belden (73-70) and sophomore Derek Oldham (71-72), shared the 16th spot with Doster.
The Wildcats return to action Feb. 25-26 at the Rio Pinar Invitational in Orlando, Fla.
AGATE
1. University of Kentucky 562 (282 280); 2. ULM 564 (278 286); 3. Denver, U. of 570 (287 283); 4. Oral Roberts Univ. 574 (290 284); 5. Utah, Univ. of 575 ( 290 285); 6. Rice University 576 (294 282); 7. UC Riverside 577 (287 290); 8. Campbell University 578 (287 291); 9. Brigham Young Univ. 579 (293 286); 10. Southern Utah Univ. 581 (290 291); 11. UMKC 586 (297 289); 12. Weber State Univ. 597 (298 299); 13. Grand Canyon Univ. 600 (314 286); 14. Dixie State CC(Utah) 604 (295 309) 15. Utah Valley State 608 (314 294); 16. Utah State Univ. 617 (309 308); 17. Idaho State Univ. 619 (307 312) 18. Centenary College 626 (312 314)
UK Individuals
T-8 ? James Kania ? 140 (71-69)
T-13 ? Andy Winnings ? 142 (72-70)
T-13 ? Cale Barr ? 142 (67-75)
T-16 ? Brad Doster ? 143 (72-71)
T-16 ? Brian Belden ? 143 (73-70)
T-16 ? Derek Oldham ? 143 (71-72)
