May 30, 2003
Stillwater, Okla. – Kentucky sophomore golfer John Holmes finished tied for 16th place in the NCAA Individual Men’s Golf Championship at the Karsten Creek Golf Course in Stillwater, Okla., on Friday. The Campbellsville, Ky., native shot an 8-over par 80 in the final round to leave him tied with UCLA’s John Merrick and Florida’s Camilo Villegas at nine over with a three-day total of 297.
“It was great just to have an opportunity to compete for the national championship,” Holmes said. “I am disappointed I did not play better, but overall it was a great experience.”
Holmes advanced to Friday’s final round as an individual after firing a 3-under par 69 on Thursday to move him into second place. After the third round of play, the top-18 teams and top-six individuals not on those teams were selected to compete in the final round. As a team, Kentucky was eliminated after the first 54 holes. Arizona State’s Alejandro Canizeras won the individual title with a 1-under par 287 for the championship. Auburn’s Lee Williams finished second with a one-over 289. Clemson took the team title with a 39-over par three-day total of 1191.
The Cats completed what turned out to be an unexpected season, at least by those who aren’t associated with the UK men’s golf team on a daily basis, after making their first appearance in the NCAA National Championship since 1988.
“It was our goal to reach the national tournament at the beginning of the season,” Coach Brian Craig said. “We finished in the top 30 of almost 300 division-one men’s golf teams, that is a pretty good accomplishment.
“I’m very proud of the hard work this team put in over the course of the year. We had a young team compete in this year’s tournament and this experience is only going to make us better.”
UK finished in the top 10 of 14 total tournaments this year, including the team’s first win under Craig at the Fall Beach Classic in November. The Cats also finished ninth in the always competitive Southeastern Conference, which boasted a total of eight teams in this year’s National Championship Tournament.
The Cats lose seniors Ryan Coyne, Andy Dustman and Bradley Pogue to graduation this summer. Besides Holmes, freshman Matt Kohn and sophomores Brandon Waldrop and Mark Blakefield will be returning from this year’s national championship squad.
Agate:
Top-five Individuals
1 Alejandro Canizeras Arizona State 77 70 71 69 287 (-1)
2 Lee WilliamsAuburn69 72 71 77 289 (+1)
T3 Matthew RosenfeldTexas71 76 71 72 290 (+2)
T3 Chris StroudLamar70 77 70 73 290 (+2)
5 Brock MackenzieWashington77 71 72 71 291 (+3)
T16 John Holmes Kentucky72 76 69 80 297 (+9)
Top-five Teams
1 Clemson299 302 287 303 1191 (+39)
2 Oklahoma State299 300 290 304 1193 (+41)
3 UCLA303 295 301 298 1197 (+45)
T4 Wake Forest304 306 290 298 1198 (+46)
T4 Florida302 300 297 299 1198 (+46)
26 Kentucky309 323 310 942 (+78)*
*Eliminated afer 54 holes
