May 15, 2003

Complete Team and Individual Standings

MANHATTAN, KAN. – The University of Kentucky men’s golf team completed day one of the 2003 NCAA Central Regional Championships on Thursday at the Colbert Hills Golf Course. The Wildcats came in as the 14th seed in the tournament but finished the day in third place in the 27-team field. Freshman Matt Kohn shot a career-low round of 67 and is tied for second overall individually. The top 10 teams along with the top two individuals from each of the three regionals will advance to the NCAA Championships taking place in Stillwater, Okla., May 27-30.

Kohn completed the par-72 course with six birdies and just one bogey. He was happy with his overall play, but not surprised at the team’s finish.

“I was hitting the ball very well today,” Kohn said. “I didn’t putt particularly well, but I hit what I needed to hit. As a team, it was just a matter of time before we all played solid. It doesn’t surprise me at all that we’re in this position.”

“Matt played an absolutely beautiful round,” Coach Brian Craig said. “He’s already won a tournament this year which is extremely difficult as a freshman. It’s not surprising to me how well he did today. He has a lot of game.”

Playing at No. 5, sophomore Mark Blakefield came into the clubhouse first with a two-under 70. He had played the first 15 holes even until he hit a 25-foot eagle putt on the par-five 16th to start things off for Kentucky. Senior Ryan Coyne birdied the 16th and came in at minus one. Kohn followed, playing at No. 3.

Sophomore Brandon Waldrop was the next to come in. After going +2 through 12 holes, Waldrop drove the green on the par-four 13th and hit a seven foot putt for an eagle to put him at even par for the day. Sophomore John Holmes, recently named to the All-SEC second team, finished at +1.

“I’m very proud of the way the guys played today,” Craig said. “We’re usually a slow-starting team so it’s great to get out to this kind of start. It’s encouraging to be where we are and we didn’t even use John’s score. That shows that we have a lot of depth and don’t have to rely on him.”

The Wildcats will tee-off on Friday at 8:43 a.m. CT. Live scoring can be found on www.golfstat.com.