Men’s Golf Returns to Action at Bearcat Invitational

2017-18 Season Stats
 
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After beginning the 2017-18 campaign by winning the Wolf Run Intercollegiate trophy, the Kentucky men’s golf team is set to take aim at the Coldstream Country Club course at the Bearcat Invitational beginning on Monday. The 54-hole tournament will be played over the span of two days, with the field playing 36 holes on the opening day of competition and the final 18 holes on Tuesday.
 
Kentucky earned its first tournament victory when it concluded play seven strokes ahead of the field at Wolf Run earlier this month. Four players posted top-10 individual finishes, and all four of those players will start this week’s event in Cincinnati, Ohio.
 
Junior Lukas Euler and sophomore Matt Liston earned their first career top-five finishes, while senior Evan Cox turned in a top-10 performance for the first time at UK to pave the way at Wolf Run. Senior Cooper Musselman placed in a tie for seventh, his eighth career top-10 finish, while Chip McDaniel carded a tie for 11th.
 
UK will look to keep that momentum going into Coldstream, which features a field of 12 teams, including four squads ranked among GolfWeek’s top 50. UK boasts a field-best No. 13 ranking via the publication.

Coach Craig’s Takeaway 

“Coldstream is one of the finest courses around and a true test of pure, old school, championship golf. We are coming off a nice showing at Wolf Run, but it is time to test ourselves again against a challenging course and a better field.”

Lineup Profiles

Lukas Euler: Led the team to the Wolf Run title with a career-best showing of a tie for third in the event. He tallied two par-or-better rounds and finished the opening tournament at 3-over par. He has three career top-10 finishes and 18 par-or-better rounds.
 
Cooper Musselman: Garnered a top-10 finish when he came in a tie for seventh at the first tournament of the season at Wolf Run. He notched two rounds of par or lower, including an even-par final round to move into the top 10. It was his eighth career top-10 finish.
 
Chip McDaniel: He topped the century mark for career rounds played in his start at Wolf Run earlier this month. McDaniel carded a tie for 11th and tallied his 21st career top-20 finish. McDaniel will make his team-leading 35th career start this week at the Bearcat Invitational.
 
Matt Liston: Liston concluded Wolf Run with his first collegiate top-five finish as he tied for fifth at 5-over par for the tournament. He’ll make his second-consecutive start after posting a career-low round of 71 in the final round en route to helping UK capture the Wolf Run crown. 
 
Evan Cox: After carding his first-ever Division I top-five finish at Wolf Run as an individual, Cox enters UK’s starting lineup for the first time in 2017-18. It’ll be the third start overall for the former Division III national champion. Cox has two top-20 finishes at UK.
 
Fred Allen Meyer: Meyer will round out the lineup as UK’s sixth starter this weekend, the 14th start of his career. He placed in a tie for 26th at Wolf Run with a low round of 72. He is one of four players in the starting lineup who competed in this event a season ago. Meyer has four top-20 finishes in his career. 

The Tournament Setup

Teams: Akron, Arkansas, Cincinnati, College of Charleston, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan State, Middle Tennessee State, Mississippi State, Ohio State, Xavier
 
Course Details: Coldstream Country Club is one of Cincinnati’s premier private clubs situated on 190 idyllic areas, featuring elite, championship 18-hole golf course. It has served as the backdrop to numerous Ohio amateur and open championships as well as USGA qualifiers.
 
Format: Par 71, 7,150 yards – Play six and count four scores
 
Schedule of Play: 54 total holes; 36 continuous holes on Day 1, Final 18 holes on Day 2
                Monday, Sept. 25 – Rounds 1-2 (Shotgun start at 8:45-9 a.m. ET)
                Tuesday, Sept. 26 – Round 3 (Tee times start at 8:35-8:45 a.m. ET)
 
Live Look: Live stats are available via golfstat.com.
 
Forecast: Monday (High of 89 and mostly sunny), Tuesday (High of 88 and sunny)

History at the Bearcat Invitational  

Years Participated: 2016, 2011
 
Best Finish: 2nd – 2011
 
Returning Player Finishes From 2016: Chip McDaniel (T3rd), Cooper Musselman (T20th), Evan Cox (T30th), Fred Allen Meyer (T39th)
 
Noteworthy: Chip McDaniel went under par in both the second and third rounds of last year’s tournament, including a tournament-best 4-under final round.

Upcoming Schedule

Oct. 16-17            Crooked Stick Intercollegiate                      Carmel, Indiana
Oct. 28-29            Steelwood Collegiate Invitational              Loxley, Alabama
Feb. 18-20           Puerto Rico Classic                                           Rio Grande, Puerto Rico 

Agate 

Kentucky
1 – Lukas Euler
2 – Cooper Musselman
3 – Chip McDaniel
4 – Matt Liston
5 – Evan Cox
6 – Fred Allen Meyer
 
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s golf team, follow @UKMensGolf on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.