Mehles, Musselman Lead UK on Day One at Karsten Creek
Day One Results
STILLWATER, Okla. – Faced with an early tee time and nearly three hours of stoppage due to inclement weather, the Kentucky men’s golf team got off to a good start at the 2018 NCAA Championship following a 4-over par round to begin the week. Play in round one has not concluded as darkness fell on the course around 9:45 p.m. ET with 15 teams still on the course.
Senior Cooper Musselman and freshman Max Mehles both carded 1-under-par rounds to pave the way for the Wildcats. Kentucky is one of 30 programs vying for the first of several steps to a national title. After three days of 54 holes of stroke play, the top 15 teams will play an additional round of stroke play on Monday. Those 15 teams will fight for a spot in the top eight of match play which will eventually determine the nation’s best team in 2018.
“We actually put a good bit of pressure on the course today, but just made a few too many high numbers,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “I am real proud of Cooper and Max for playing solid rounds and leading the team. This is a long event and we should be in a fine position once all the teams finish the first round. Tomorrow is a new day and we will be ready.”
Kentucky had one of the first tee times of the day and waited at the course for nearly 2.5 hours before opening its round. The Wildcats then endured an additional stoppage due to weather-related issues at the start of their round.
With the multiple stoppages forcing delays, Kentucky is currently in a tie for 14th at 4-over par. Half of the field has three to 11 holes remaining in round one. Musselman and Mehles are tied for 24th on the individual leaderboard as it stands at the end of Friday’s action
Musselman’s round opened with consecutive pars before he suffered a bogey on the par-three third. The Louisville, Kentucky, native responded with consecutive birdies to get to red numbers. He then fended off back-to-back bogeys with a birdie on the par-four eighth to head into the turn at even par. Birdies on the par-five 14th and par-five 18th enabled Musselman to get to 1-under par for his round. It’s the 21st time this season he has produced a par-or-better round. He sits in a tie for 24th place.
Mehles went into the turn at 2-over par needing something to go his way. A bogey on the 10th pushed his score to 3-over par, but all the Pulheim, Germany, native did from there was produce four birdies over the final eight holes, including the par-five 18th to get to 1-under par. Mehles is also in 24th place after his opening 18 holes.
Juniors Lukas Euler and Fred Allen Meyer both notched rounds of 75 during Friday’s round. Euler had birdies on two of his final three holes, while Meyer played the final 11 holes of his round at 1-under par. The duo is tied for 99th with half of the teams still needing to finish their first rounds.
Senior Chip McDaniel carded a 78 with a round that featured four birdies. He is tied for 134th and will look to bounce back on Saturday.
The first round will resume at 8 a.m. ET tomorrow before the second round gets underway beginning at approximately 9 a.m. ET.
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: Saturday (Partly cloudy, high of 94), Sunday (Sunny, high of 95)
Agate – Round One Not Complete
T14 – Kentucky (292, +4)
T24 – Max Mehles (71, -1)
T24 – Cooper Musselman (71, -1)
T99 – Lukas Euler (75, +3)
T99 – Fred Allen Meyer (75, +3)
T134 – Chip McDaniel (78, +6)
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s golf team, follow @UKMensGolf on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.
