AWENDAW, South Carolina – Behind strong opening rounds from Alex Goff and Kevin Watts, the Kentucky men’s golf team sits in a tie for fourth after 18 holes of the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate on Sunday in Awendaw, South Carolina. East Tennessee State leads the tournament at 19-under-par, followed by Purdue at 14-under, Wisconsin at 11-under and the Wildcats and N.C. State at 8-under.
The Cats are off in the opening pairings in the second round on Monday, teeing it up with N.C. State and Missouri starting at 9:27 a.m.
Goff, a senior, and Watts, a freshman, are two of five participants tied atop the leaderboard after each posted a 6-under-par 66. Each Wildcat carded seven birdies against just one bogey as Goff tied for his third-best career round and best of his senior season, while Watts bested the low of his rookie campaign by four strokes. Goff, who is playing the Hootie at Bulls Bay for the third time in his career, carded his fifth round under par in seven rounds played in the event, which he tied for 12th in as a sophomore in 2021.
The round marked Goff’s team-high 15th round of par-or-better on the season, including a team-best 13 rounds under par. Watts carded his sixth round of par-or-better, five of them coming under par.
Junior Campbell Kremer sits in a tie for 29th with a 1-under 71 after recording four birdies against a bogey and a double. The round marked his sixth round of par-or-better this season and fourth under par.
Senior Jackson LaLonde, making his second start of the season, and graduate Garrett Wood rounded out the Wildcat lineup with a 5-over 77 and 6-over 78, respectively. LaLonde sits in a tie for 73rd while Wood is tied for 78th.
Playing as an individual, graduate Dhaivat Pandya carded a 5-over 77 and is tied for 73rd.
As a team, Kentucky is tied for third in par-3 scoring at 2-under and tied for third with 21 birdies. Individually, Goff and Watts are tied for tops in the field in par-3 scoring and 2-under and their seven birdies put them for a tie for most in the 81-competitor field.
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