Men’s Golf Concludes Fall Action at Steelwood Invitational
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky men’s golf team returns to the course on Saturday after a two-week break from competition. Time to refresh has the squad ready for its third competition of the fall. The Wildcats are set to take on a two-day, 54-hole event featuring 12 teams at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational in Loxley, Alabama.
This week the Wildcats will take a veteran lineup featuring three seniors and two juniors to an event they placed fourth in a season ago paced by Lukas Euler who took home runner-up status behind a career-best effort last year.
“Steelwood is our final event of the fall season and it is time for us to show up,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “We need to focus on what we can control and throw out any tentativeness or indecision. I love this team and know we will hit our stride in due time. This would be a good week to start.”
Steelwood will play at a par 72 over 7,096 yards. It’s a 54-hole event with 36 holes taking place on Saturday and the final 18 on Sunday. Tee times being at 9:30 a.m. ET on Saturday. Live scoring will be available via golfstat.com.
Euler headlines the starting lineup. He’ll return to the course where he earned his first-career runner-up finish from a year ago. The Dieburg, Germany, native fired a 4-under par score with rounds of par-or-better in all three rounds. He was one of just six players to shoot under par for the tournament.
This weekend will mark the second event of the season for Euler, who missed UK’s opening tournament while he played on the European Tour. He led the way for the Wildcats during The Grove, finishing in a tie for 13th with a score of 215. During his junior campaign, he generated eight top-20 finishes and a season-average score of 72.25.
Euler is joined in the lineup by classmates Max Mehles and Fred Allen Meyer, and juniors Matt Liston and Allen Hamilton.
Mehles, Meyer and Liston will make their third consecutive starts for the Wildcats. Liston finished tied for 27th to finish as the second Wildcat behind Euler at The Grove. He tied for 36th overall a season ago in this event.
Meyer led the way for the Wildcats at the Louisville Cardinal Challenge with a 1-over score. This week will mark his 25th career start for the Wildcats.
Mehles began The Grove with a team-low 69. He is averaging a 73.83 score through the first six rounds of the season thus far.
Hamilton returns to the starting lineup after playing as an individual competitor at The Grove. This weekend will serve as his third-career start. He had season-low rounds of 73 in each of the opening two days of The Grove and is averaging a career-low score this season.
Redshirt freshman Zach Norris and sophomore Jacob Cook will also be among the field of individual contenders at Steelwood this week. This comes after Norris made his UK debut at The Grove where he finished in a tie for 30th, while scoring a pair of under par rounds. Cook tied for 23rd as an individual at Steelwood a season ago. It’s the best finish of his career with two rounds played under par.
The Steelwood field features Indiana, Kennesaw State, Kansas State, Mississippi State, North Alabama, Rice, Richmond, South Alabama, Southern Mississippi, Wake Forest and Wofford. Designed by former U.S. Open Champion Jerry Pate, Steelwood Country Club has been rated as one of the best courses in Alabama by GolfDigest. This scenic course is centered on Steelwood Lake, holds Bermuda grass, and provides many perplexing shots throughout its 7,096 yards.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s golf team, follow @UKMensGolf on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.
