Kentucky Concludes SEC Championship in 11th

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The Kentucky men’s golf team concluded action at the 2021 Southeastern Conference Championship in 11th place overall with sophomore Alex Goff finishing as its top performer on the individual leaderboard in a tie for 28th.
 
“We gave it our best shot this week and I am so proud of this team’s effort and attitude,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “We had terrific leadership from our older guys like Allen (Hamilton), Cookie (Jacob Cook) and Reid (Bedell). Now we sit and wait to see if we get into the postseason. I think we should get in, but it will be close. These guys to deserve to fight again, I do know that.”
 
The NCAA field will be announced on May 5 via the Golf Channel.   
 
Kentucky began the day in contention for one of the eight slots to advance to Saturday’s match play, but No. 11 Texas A&M utilized a course-leading 3-under par round to move into the final spot. No. 10 Georgia (+2) topped the field by eight strokes. No. 37 Alabama, No. 19 Tennessee and No. 23 LSU tied for second at 10-over. A champion will be determined at the conclusion of match play on Sunday.
 
All five of Kentucky’s starters appeared in the first SEC Championship of their careers. Goff paced the Wildcats with a finish for 28th at 6-over par. The Kings Mountain, North Carolina, native had a 2-over 72 on Friday.
 
Senior Jacob Cook led UK during the third round with an even-par 70. It marked his second par-or-better round of the tournament. Cook concluded the week in tie for 33rd. Cook opened the day with a bogey on the 10th, but quickly combatted it with a birdie at the 11th. He offset two more bogeys on the front nine with a birdie on the 15th to make the turn at 1-over. The Frankfort, Kentucky, native moved to even par with a birdie on the par-three third. He yielded the shot back at the sixth, but UK’s leader responded in a big way with a birdie on his second-to-last hole, the par-four eighth to get back to even par for the round.
 
Senior Allen Hamilton matched Cook’s finish in a tie for 33rd. He shot a final round of 76. Graduate student Reid Bedell carded a 73 during Friday’s round and concluded the tournament in a tie for 57th.  Sophomore Cooper Parks had a 78 and ended the week in 63rd.  

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