Cats Fight Back in Round Two, Tied for Ninth with 18 Holes to Play
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Led by a pair of 68’s from Jansen Preston and Oakley Gee, Kentucky men’s golf rebounded from a difficult first round with a 3-under par team total in round two, putting the Wildcats in a tie for ninth with 18 holes remaining at the Gators Invitational.
UK sits with a 36-hole total of 567 (+7) with Gee and Alex Goff the top Wildcats on the leaderboard at 1-over par individually, good for T26. Florida leads on its home track, the Mark Bostick Golf Course (Par 70, 6701 yards), atop the 16-team field at 22-under par.
Starting the day at 7:30 a.m. this morning, it was Goff and freshman Michael Hake, who led the Cats in round one. Goff recovered from a 4-over start through his first 13 holes by making three birdies over his final five to post an opening round 71 (+1), the best round one score for UK. Hake, a freshman from Brentwood, Tennessee who is making his first spring start, fired an opening round 72 highlighted by an eagle on his final hole, the par-5 third. Gee (73) and Preston (74), were the other counting scores for Kentucky in the first round, giving the Wildcats a 10-over par total of 290 that had the team tied for 13th overall.
UK found improved form in the afternoon, however, climbing the leaderboard in large part due to the sub-par efforts from Gee and Preston. For Gee, a redshirt freshman from Carmi, Illinois, the 68 marked the lowest round of his collegiate career, while for Preston, the 2-under effort was his best since transferring to Kentucky this past fall.
Goff remained his steady self in round two, carding an even-par 70 which included four birdies. Senior Campbell Kremer also pitched in, signing for a 71 which featured an eagle on No. 7 (par 5, 565 yards). Kentucky’s second round team score of 277 (-3) was the seventh best in the field among the 16 teams. The Wildcats’ starting five totaled 21 birdies and two eagles for the day.
Individual Andrew Clark played consistently on Friday, registering a pair of 72’s to sit T47. Clark made six birdies on the day, three in each round.
The third and final round is set to begin tomorrow morning with a 7:30 a.m. modified shotgun start. The Wildcats will be paired with Liberty and Furman off hole No. 10.
Kentucky Results:
T26: Alex Goff (71-70)
T26: Oakley Gee (73-68)
T34: Jansen Preston (74-68)
T58: Campbell Kremer (75-71)
T74: Michael Hake (72-77)
T47: Andrew Clark (72-72)*
*Individual
Bold = Counting score
For the latest on UK Men’s Golf follow the Wildcats on X and Instagram @UKmensgolf, and online at ukathletics.com.
