Wildcats Begin Quest for National Title on Friday
2017-18 Season Stats
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Each season every team in the country strives to be playing in the season’s final tournament. Only 30 teams in men’s collegiate golf achieve that opportunity and beginning on Friday the Kentucky men’s golf team will tee off for a chance at a national title.
Play opens at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Oklahoma, beginning at 8:22 a.m. ET for the Wildcats. UK will go off the No. 1 tee alongside UNLV and North Florida.
All 30 teams will play 54 holes over three days of stroke play. Five players from each team will compete and the team score will be determined by the four lowest scores. The top 15 teams following the 54-hole event will play one additional round of stroke play to determine the final eight teams. The final eight teams will begin match play on Tuesday with a winner crowned on Wednesday.
Kentucky enters this week with a No. 25 national ranking after capturing four regular-season tournament victories. The 30-team field consists of 27 teams ranked inside of the top 50 of the latest GolfStat rankings, led by the host Oklahoma State Cowboys who own the nation’s No. 1 ranking.
Fans can follow along each day with live scoring via Golfstat.com. Television coverage begins on Monday with four hours of the competition airing on the Golf Channel. Match play will also feature live coverage.
Kentucky’s route to an appearance in the NCAA Championship was not a forgone conclusion despite one of the most accomplished regular seasons under head coach Brian Craig. Faced with a 10-stroke deficit entering the final day of play at the NCAA Bryan Regional, the Kentucky men’s golf team needed a little magic to secure its spot.
About that magic? It came in the form of a 118-yard approach shot on the 444-yard, par-four 18th hole off the club of senior Chip McDaniel.
With the Cats clinging to a one-stroke advantage over Ole Miss for the fifth and final spot from the Bryan Regional to send UK to the NCAA Championship, McDaniel delivered the biggest shot of his decorated career.
The setup began with a powerful 326-yard drive that landed in the fairway. Only needing a par, McDaniel lofted his shot towards the green and watched as an entire sea of blue-clad teammates erupted when he holed the shot.
And with that one swing of the club it solidified the Cats aren’t done yet. Beginning on Friday, the Wildcats will get one more opportunity to show they are one of the best in the country.
Coach Craig’s Takeaway
“The pinnacle of Division I golf and we are very grateful to be in Stillwater with the chance to compete. I have told the guys they will love Karsten Creek. It is an amazing and quite challenging golf course. I think it is a good fit for our team, but I am sure it will do its job of identifying the best players and teams. We will be ready to play and do our best to represent the Big Blue Nation.”
Lineup Profiles
Lukas Euler: Euler has enjoyed the most productive season of his three-year career. He has totaled a career-low 71.85 stroke average, which also ties Cooper Musselman as the best on the team. He has a team-high eight top-20 finishes in 11 events. The Dieburg, Germany, native has also tallied a team-best 21 par-or-better rounds. He opened his junior campaign by scoring a tie for third to help lead UK to a win at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate. He then carded a tie for second at the Steelwood Intercollegiate to cap off the fall, narrowly missing out on his first career win. His spring season was highlighted by a runner-up finish at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate where he scored a career-low 205 at 11-under for the week. He was UK’s top finisher at the SEC Championship with a tie for 16th. He will make his second start at the NCAA Championship.
Matt Liston: Liston is the sixth member of UK’s lineup in the newly revamped NCAA lineups that allow you to have an alternate player. Liston fired a 74.29 stroke average over 21 rounds and five starts this season. His best finish came as a member of the starting lineup at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate where his top-five finish helped pave the way to a win for the Wildcats. Liston enjoyed rounds of 74-73-71 in the event. He has fired a career-low score (68) and a career-low tournament score (215) during his sophomore campaign this season. Liston’s last start came at the Gary Koch Invitational where he fired a 2-over par score and finished in a tie for 29th overall.
Chip McDaniel: McDaniel will make his 45th career start and the second of his career at the NCAA Championships. McDaniel is coming off a dramatic NCAA Regional that helped propel UK to the Championship. He holed in an eagle from 118-yards out on the 18th hole of the final day of play. His finish enabled him to secure three top 15 finishes at the NCAA Regional during his prolific career. He enters this week with a 72.18 stroke average, which includes 17 par-or-better rounds. McDaniel was simply sensational during his last regular-season event where he earned a runner-up, record-breaking finish at the Gary Koch Invitational. McDaniel fired a career-low-tying 201 (-15) for the week with rounds of 66-69-66 to finish just one shot off the lead. McDaniel earned his second individual win this season when he took home top honors at the Bearcat Invitational to help guide UK to its second straight tournament title in as many tries to begin the season. The Manchester, Kentucky, native also shot a 201 at that tournament, marking the second-lowest 54-hole tournament score under Craig.
Max Mehles: Mehles has charged into the lineup with magnificent performances down the stretch for the Wildcats this spring in his redshirt freshman campaign. Mehles has garnered three top-10 finishes in his last six events played; including a tie for third with his best-ever score at the Gary Koch Invitational. Mehles played at 7-under par behind scores of 70-71-68 as Kentucky secured its fourth win of the season. The Pulheim, Germany, native has carded 12 par-or-better rounds with seven coming in an eight-round stretch to conclude regular-season action. Mehles finished in a tie for sixth at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate and also had a tie for seventh as an individual at the General Hackler Championship. In his first start at the SEC Championship, Mehles claimed a tie for 26th which included a round of 1-under par during the second round. He will make his first-ever appearance in the NCAA Championship this week.
Fred Allen Meyer: Meyer will make the first start of his career at the NCAA Championship after previously earning two starts during NCAA Regional competition. No stranger to the starting lineup, Meyer will make the 22nd of his career this week. The Nicholasville, Kentucky, native enjoyed one of his best performances of the season at the Gary Koch Invitational with a career-best finish of a tie for sixth. He fired rounds of 71-69-70 for a 210 total score. He narrowly missed matching his career-best score of 208 which he set earlier this season at the Bearcat Invitational when he tied for 11th. He has six top-20 finishes in his career and is shooting at a career-low clip of 73.20 this season over 30 rounds of play.
Cooper Musselman: Musselman is set to appear in the 44th event of his career and his second NCAA Championship. Musselman has notched a squad-best 71.85 stroke average on the season with seven top-20 finishes and four top-10 finishes which include his first collegiate victory. Musselman opened the season with three-consecutive top-10 finishes, including a win at the Crooked Stick Intercollegiate. He shot a 6-under-par score to lead Kentucky to its third straight tournament win to begin the year. Musselman tied for ninth at the Bearcat Invitational and broke his own records with a low round (67) and a low score (207). The Louisville, Kentucky, native has fired 20 par-or-better rounds on the year, including nine of those coming in the final round of a tournament. He matched Euler’s performance with a tie for 16th at the SEC Championship and placed 19th at the NCAA Regional where he shot 4-under par over the final two rounds.
The Tournament Setup
Teams based on seed: Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Florida, Auburn, Illinois, Baylor, Texas Tech, Clemson, Texas, North Carolina, BYU, Kansas, Stanford, Arkansas, Arizona State, UNLV, North Florida, Kentucky, UCLA, Duke, Kent State, Oregon, Northwestern, NC State, Iowa State, Central Florida, Augusta
Course Details: Designed by Tom Fazio the course stretches over 7,400 yards with SR1020 bent-grass greens and zoysia fairways that wind through native blackjack oak trees. A 110-acre lake also comes into play on many holes, with greens lying feet from the water at times. Earned the “Best New Public Golf Course” by Golfweek in 1994 and it earned a five-star rating by the service in 1998. Travel & Leisure Golf magazine rates Karsten as the best collegiate golf course in the country. This marks the third time it will play host to the NCAA Championship, also serving as the final spot in 2003 and 2011.
Format: Three-day, 54-hole event stroke play. Count top four scores each day. Final 15 teams after stroke play will play an additional round of stroke play to determine the top eight teams which will move on to match play. Match play for top eight teams beginning on Tuesday. Final two play head-to-head in match play on Wednesday.
Live Look: Live stats are available via golfstat.com.
Forecast: Friday (50% chance of PM Thunderstorms, high of 90), Saturday (Partly cloudy, high of 94), Sunday (Sunny, high of 95)
History at NCAA Championships
Best Finish: 5th (2006)
All-Time Finishes under Brian Craig: 2016-11th, 2014-T18th, 2006-5th, 2005-7th, 2004-8th, 2003-26th
Returning Players History: Chip McDaniel (26th), Cooper Musselman (26th), Lukas Euler (79th) through all four rounds of stroke play in 2016
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s golf team, follow @UKMensGolf on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.