The Kentucky men?s golf team is ranked 19th in the country among Division I programs in the latest Golfstat rankings, which were released Monday evening. Junior All-American John Holmes is ranked seventh as an individual in the GolfWeek.com rankings. UK has reached unprecedented heights since third year coach Brian Craig took over the program.

?It?s been a long time since UK has been in the Top-20,? Craig said. ?All the credit goes to this team and its commitment on the golf course. It is great to see them get this type of recognition.?

The Wildcats are coming off a third-place finish at the Conrad Rehling Spring Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Ala., this past weekend. Holmes took top honors as an individual at the event by scoring a season-low 209 (69-69-71). Kentucky has finished in the Top-10 as a team in all eight tournaments it has competed in this school year, including a first-place finish at the Cleveland/Kiawah Island Intercollegiate in September.

Last season, Kentucky made its first NCAA Championships appearance in 10 years. It was unable to qualify for the final day of competition as a team, but Holmes advanced individually and finished tied for 16th-place overall.

Holmes leads the Cats with a 71.14 stroke average this season. Kentucky?s lineup also features juniors Mark Blakefield (73.37), Brandon Waldrop (76.06) and Matt Wells (76.05), as well as sophomore Matt Kohn (73.50). Junior Jack Hudson (77.67), sophomore Tyler Wilson (80.50) and freshmen Cale Barr (79.22), Brad Doster (78.67) and Mark Erlewine (77.00) have also competed in one or more tournaments this season.

Kentucky will play host to the 18th Annual Johnny Owens Invitational, April 2-3, at the University Club of Kentucky. The tournament will feature 12 teams, including Eastern Kentucky University, Morehead State, Louisville and Western Kentucky University.