May 27, 2003
Live Championship Scoring
Stillwater, Okla. –
In its first appearance in the NCAA National Championship Tournament in 15 years, the UK men’s golf team found itself tied for 17th place, out of 30 teams, with New Mexico after shooting a 21-over par 309 in the first round of play on Tuesday. Oklahoma State, North Carolina State, Clemson and Auburn are all tied atop the leader board at 11-over par 299. Southern California and Duke are tied at 12-over 300 to round out the top five of the tournament being played at the par-72 Karsten Creek Golf Course in Stillwater, Okla.
“I think we had a respectable start,” Coach Brian Craig said. “This course is extremely difficult and to come out and put up the numbers we did is decent. On any other course, if you told me we would have just two guys break 80 and still be in the top 20 I would not have believed it.
“We had a decent start, but we also have the capability to play better and I’m confident that is going to happen. If we come out and play the way I know we are capable of, we will make a big jump up the leader board.”
Leading the way for Kentucky was sophomore John Holmes who made an eagle on the final hole of the day to finish at an even-par 72, joining seven other individuals in a tie for fifth place. Auburn’s Lee Williams led the individuals with a 3-under par 69. Lamar’s Chris Stroud and Augusta State’s Oliver Wilson are tied for second at two-under, and Matthew Rosenfeld is in fourth with a 1-under 71.
The next lowest scorer for the Cats was sophomore Brandon Waldrop who shot a 5-over par 77 to land in a tie for 60th place. Senior Ryan Coyne and freshman Matt Kohn each finished with an eight-over 80, while sophomore Mark Blakefield finished with an 11-over par 83.Kentucky will begin the second round of play at 2 p.m. ET. Fans can follow the action live at golfstat.com.
Agate:
Top-15 Teams
T1 Oklahoma State 299 (+11)
T1 North Carolina State299 (+11)
T1 Clemson 299 (+11)
T1 Auburn 299 (+11)
T5 Southern California300 (+12)
T5 Duke 300 (+12)
7 Florida 302 (+14)
8 UCLA 303 (+15)
T9 Wake Forest304 (+16)
T9 Illinois 304 (+16)
11 Minnesota 305 (+17)
T12 Arizona State 307 (+19)
T12 Texas 304 (+16)
T14 Arizona 307 (+19)
T15 Wichita State 308 (+20)
T15 North Carolina 308 (+20)
T17 KENTUCKY 309 (+21)
Top-Five Players
1 Lee Williams Auburn 69 (-3)
T2 Chris Stroud Lamar 70 (-2)
T2 Oliver Wilson Augusta State70 (-2)
4 Matthew RosenfeldTexas71 (-1)
Eight Others Tied at Even Par
UK PLAYERS
T5John Holmes 72 (E)
T60Brandon Waldrop 77 (+5)
T98Ryan Coyne 80 (+8)
T98Matt Kohn 80 (+8)
T125Mark Blakefield 83 (+11)
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