Wildcats Tied for 12th Through 18 at Hootie at Bulls Bay
AWENDAW, S.C. – Graduate student Reid Bedell continued his hot play with an even-par 72 to lead the Kentucky men’s golf team on the opening day at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate. Bedell fired his third straight par-or-better round and is tied for 26th to pace the Wildcats who are tied for 12th at 6-over par in the 16-team field with 36 holes remaining.
Round two gets underway on Monday at 9 a.m. ET. The Wildcats will tee off from the 10th alongside Kansas and West Virginia. Live scoring will be provided by birdiefire.com.
Kent State leads the field at 10-under par, with Missouri four shots off the leader’s pace. Auburn is in third at 5-under par. Purdue (-3) and Wisconsin (-2) round out the top five. Kentucky is tied with Marquette for 12th overall following a 6-over-par 294 to open the tournament. The field is bunched with just 21 shots separating the leaders from the 16th-place squad.
Bedell got off to a hot start for the Wildcats and was leading the individual field at 4-under par through 12 holes. He opened his round with a bogey, but got things going with a birdie at the par-five second. The Fair Haven, New Jersey, native’s round really picked up steam with an eagle at the par-five fourth. He birdied the eighth and made the turn at 3-under par. A birdie on the 10th pushed his score to 4-under, but bogeys on four of his final five holes set him back to even-par.
He has logged five par-or-better rounds this spring, but he’s been on a tear of late with scores of par or better in each of his last three rounds.
Senior Allen Hamilton is tied for 37th overall following a 1-over-par 73. The Louisville, Kentucky, native charted birdies on three of five holes with low numbers at the 11th, 14th and 15th to highlight his day.
Graduate student Jacob Cook is in a tie for 47th following a 74 to begin play at the Hootie. Cook played his opening nine holes at 3-over par but made the turn and played 1-under par over his final nine. He had birdies on two of his final three holes, including the par-four 18th.
Sophomore Cooper Parks logged a round of 75 and is tied for 57th, while classmate Alex Goff shot a 77 and is tied for 78th overall. Parks matched Cook with a 1-under on the back nine.
This 7,220-yard course, just minutes from Charleston, is stimulating and offers two par fives that are more than 600 yards long. This tournament annually features some of the best collegiate programs in the nation. It lies along the tidal salt marshes to the north of Charleston and is known for its bold and somewhat idiosyncratic style. Taking into account the ever-changing coastal wind conditions, fairways are wide and green sites generously proportioned to offer the players a wide variety of approach play.
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