Goff, Hamilton to Play in Genesis Open Collegiate Showcase
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky men’s golfers Alex Goff and Allen Hamilton will open the 2020 spring slate on Monday at the Genesis Open Collegiate Showcase at The Riveria Country Club in Palisades, California.
UK’s duo will pair up with PGA pros and play 18 holes. The low amateur among the field during Monday’s round will receive exemption to appear in the PGA Tour’s Genesis Open on the same course beginning on Thursday.
Hamilton will play alongside UK Athletics Hall of Famer J.B. Holmes, while Goff will play with Harold Varner III. Varner III hails from Gastonia, North Carolina, which neighbors Goff’s hometown of Kings Mountain, North Carolina.
A season ago, former Wildcat Lukas Euler scored a 4-under 67 and won the amateur event. He narrowly missed the cut in his PGA Tour debut later in the week.
Debuting in 1926 at Los Angeles Country Club as the Los Angeles Open, the PGA Tour Genesis Open was staged at various courses throughout the Los Angeles area before permanently settling at The Riviera Country Club in 1973. Known as the site of Jack Nicklaus’ professional debut, Tiger Woods’ first PGA tournament and with 25 champions in the World Golf Hall of Fame, the course has seen many major moments in golf history.
Goff and Hamilton headlined the four-tournament fall season for the Wildcats. The duo accounted for five of the team’s eight top-20 finishes and two of the three top-10 finishes.
Goff has started in all four events during his freshman campaign and is tops on the team with a 72.92 scoring average. He scored a tie for 10th in his collegiate debut at the Island Resort Intercollegiate with rounds of 74-72-69. He also placed in a tie for 13th at the Bearcat Invitational and tied for 19th at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational. In total he accounted for six par-or-better rounds. He shot a career-low round of 68 during the second round of the Bearcat en route to a career-low 212 tournament score.
Hamilton has appeared in 13 career events but made all four starts during the fall slate and ranked second on the team with a 73.00 stroke average. His best finish came in the form of a tie for fourth at the Bearcat behind a career-low opening round of 67. He finished the tournament 5-under par for a career-low scorecard of 208. He generated two top-20 showings and six par-or-better rounds.
The UK men’s golf team resumes its schedule Feb. 23-25 at the TPC Dorado Beach Collegiate in Dorado, Puerto Rico. It’ll mark the first of five regular-season events during the spring schedule. The Southeastern Conference Championship is slated for April 22-26 in St. Simons Island, Georgia at Seaside Golf Club.
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