NCAA Championship Awaits UK Men's Golf in Kansas
May 22, 2014
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s golf team will make its eighth NCAA Championship appearance in program history when the Wildcats travel to Hutchinson, Kan., for the 2014 NCAA Championship held at the Prairie Dunes Country Club from May 23-28. Play is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. during each of the first three rounds, with Kentucky set to tee off at 8:10 a.m. on Friday in the first round and at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday to start the second round. All times are Central.
Last Time Out:
Kentucky is coming off a fourth-place finish in the NCAA Raleigh Regional held in Raleigh, N.C.
UK has won one tournament this season, while placing in the top five in eight of the team’s 11 tournaments. Powers leads the team with a stroke average of 72.12 and six top-10 finishes. Stow is second on the team with a scoring average of 72.21 to go with five top-10 finishes.
About the NCAA Championship:
The 2014 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships will feature the top collegiate golfers in America and the game’s future stars. Featuring a new tournament format, 30 teams and six student-athletes – who advanced from NCAA Regional Qualifying – will compete in an individual stroke-play format over 54 holes (Friday-Sunday, May 23-25). Golf Channel’s live coverage will begin on Monday, May 26, when the top 40 individuals and ties will compete in the fourth and final stroke-play round to determine the individual national champion. On Tuesday, May 27 (quarterfinals and semi-finals) and Wednesday, May 28 (finals), the low eight teams from the 54-hole qualifying will compete in match play competition to determine the team national champion.
The Wildcats will be making their eighth appearance in the NCAA Championship in program history and fifth under head coach Brian Craig. It marks the first since 2006 after Kentucky went to four straight NCAA Championships from 2003-06.
The Championship Field:
The Southeastern Conference will be well-represented in Hutchinson, as 10 of the 30 qualifying teams are from the SEC. No. 1 Alabama (Defending National Champions), No. 6 Georgia, No. 11 Arkansas, No. 14 Vanderbilt, No. 15 LSU, No. 18 Texas A&M, No. 21 Auburn, No. 22 South Carolina and No. 27 Missouri join No. 25 Kentucky in the field. Filling out the field is No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 3 Stanford, No. 4 Georgia Tech, No. 5 California, No. 7 Washington, No. 8 Illinois, No. 9 Virginia Tech, No. 10 Houston, No. 12 UAB, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 16 Texas, No. 17 Florida State, No. 19 UCLA, No. 20 USC, No. 23 Oregon, No. 24 SMU, No. 26 Kennesaw State, No. 28 Purdue, No. 29 Georgia State and No. 30 Iowa State.
Coach Craig Quotables:
“I can’t wait to compete with these boys in one more event,” Craig said. “I feel like we are peaking at the right time and the Prairie Dunes course fits our game well. The NCAA Championship is always a big challenge, but this team is looking forward to it. We are #TeamPositive and ready to play and represent the Big Blue Nation well.”
Follow UK Men’s Golf:
For more information on the University of Kentucky men’s golf team please visit UKathletics.com and follow on Twitter @UKmensgolf.
Prairie Dunes Country Club
Hutchinson, Kan. – May 23-28
Par: 70 (35-35)
Yardage: 6,941 (3,439-3,502)
Tournament Central: Here
Live Scoring: Stats
UK Lineup:
1. Ben Stow
2. Stephen Powers
3. David Snyder
4. Cody Martin
5. Will Bishop
Teams:
Alabama
Arkansas
Auburn
California
Florida State
Georgia
Georgia State
Georgia Tech
Houston
Illinois
Iowa State
Kennesaw State
Kentucky
LSU
Missouri
Oklahoma State
Purdue
Oklahoma
Oregon
SMU
South Carolina
Stanford
Texas A&M
UCLA
University of Alabama at Birmingham
USC
Vanderbilt
Virginia Tech
Washington
Individuals:
Marco Iten, Austin Peay
Denny McCarthy, Virginia
Cyrus Stewart, Wake Forest
Taylor Pendrith, Kent State
Chris Robb, UT Chattanooga
Ricardo Gouveia, Central Florida
