Wildcats Resume Action at Collegiate Challenge Cup
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Following a season-opening third-place finish, the Kentucky men’s golf team will return to the course Sept. 25-27 as a part of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup featuring teams from the Southeastern Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference. The three-day tournament will feature 54-holes of play over the first two days of the tournament. On Sunday the teams will participate in match play, similar to the conclusion of the NCAA Championships.
What coach Brian Craig is saying:
“The Dick’s Sporting Goods Collegiate Challenge Cup is a unique event. It is basically a challenge between the SEC and the ACC. It also finishes with match play which is great for our national championship. We were solid last week and need to take a step forward this week and continue to improve. I have said it before, but I really like this team. We have the talent and depth to make an impact, but are definitely a work in progress. This is another chance to learn and get better.”
The Starting Lineup:
This week’s tournament will feature a lineup with senior David Snyder, junior Stephen Stallings, sophomore Tyler ‘Chip’ McDaniel and freshmen Lukas Euler and Jalen Ledger. All five players also participated in UK’s opening tournament at The Ocean Course.
McDaniel led the way for the Blue and White to being the 2015-16 season with a fourth-place finish at The Invitational at The Ocean Course. He fired consecutive rounds of par or better to conclude the weekend for his first top-five finish of the season.
Euler and Ledger were impressive in their collegiate debuts. Euler paced the Cats on the opening day of play with two rounds of par. He finished the tournament tied for 11th –ranking second on UK’s starting lineup. Ledger, playing as an individual in his first collegiate tournament scored a top-10 finish. He shot rounds of 73-76-72 to finish at 5-over par.
UK’s senior leader, Snyder, notched a top-20 finish in his opening tournament when he came in at 19. His tournament featured a second-round 1-under par. Dating back to his junior campaign, Snyder has earned seven top-20 finishes over his last nine tournaments.
Stallings turned in a tie for 32nd in his opening tournament of the year. The junior from Louisville, Ky., saved his best play for the final round with a 74 – the third lowest round of the day for the Wildcats.
The Tournament Field:
In addition to Kentucky, the tournament field is comprised of SEC members Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. ACC members include Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Virginia.
The impressive tournament field includes three teams ranked in Golf Week’s top-10 rankings – Florida State (2), Clemson (3) and Georgia Tech (9). Georgia (12), Vanderbilt (13), Duke (15), Alabama (20) and Florida (24) are also included in the top-25 rankings.
The Course:
The Golf Club of Tennessee opened in 1991. Golf Digest recognized The Golf Club of Tennessee as runner-up for the Best New Private Course in America following its inaugural year. It is consistently recognized as one of the top two courses in the state of Tennessee, and was recognized by Golf Week as one of America’s 100 Best Modern Courses. Also in 2006, Golf Digest Index ranked The Golf Club of Tennessee as one of America’s 50 Greatest Golf Retreats. The Golf Club of Tennessee has hosted numerous local, state, national amateur and pro-am events, while always providing enjoyable rounds of golf for members and their guests. It has recently been named the host site for the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
