Tournament: 18th Annual Johnny Owens Invitational
Site: University Club of Kentucky, Big Blue Course (Par-72)
LEXINGTON, Ky. ? No. 21 Kentucky men?s golf team will play host to the 18th annual Johnny Owens Invitational, April 2-3, at the University Club of Kentucky. The Wildcats will attempt to win their fourth Johnny Owens Invitational championship and first since 1989 when it faces stiff competition from eleven solid regional opponents.
?The Johnny Owens is a good tournament for us because we get to play at the University Club of Kentucky, which is our home course,? Coach Brian Craig said. ?It?s nice to stay at home and have friends and family around.?
Kentucky has placed in the top-10 of all eight tournaments it has competed in this year, including a first-place finish at the Cleveland Golf/Kiawah Island Intercollegiate (Sept. 8-9) and a runner-up finish at the Hyatt Dorado Beach Intercollegiate (March 7-9). The Wildcats are ranked No. 21 in the Golfstat Head-to-head standings and No. 22 in the Golfweek/Saragin men?s team rankings. UK is undefeated against Midwest Region teams this season and has compiled an impressive 264-20 record this year.
?We have been very consistent all year, but we are still looking for that one tournament where we breakout and have everybody play well and have a chance to win going away,? Craig said. ?We hope that will come at the Johnny Owens this week, but if not we?ll strive for it in future tournaments. We are due for that kind of outing.?
The nucleus of Kentucky?s team is a group of juniors led by John Holmes, who has been Kentucky?s best performer through eight tournaments this year. The Campbellsville, Ky., native leads the Wildcats with a 71.14 stroke average and six top-10 individual finishes. Holmes won the Conrad Rehling Spring Invitational by shooting a season-best 209 in Kentucky?s last outing, March 12-14. In addition to Holmes, UK?s lineup features juniors Mark Blakefield (73.37), Matt Wells (76.05) and Brandon Waldrop (76.06) as well as sophomore Matt Kohn (73.50).
The 12-team tournament will tee off Friday and Saturday at 8 a.m. each day. Participants will play 36 holes on Friday, followed by an 18-hole final on Saturday. Eastern Kentucky, Morehead State, Louisville and Western Kentucky are other in-state teams that will play in the tournament.
?There are plenty of teams capable of winning this tournament,? Craig said. ?We?ll be playing to win and hopefully we?ll have our best games and be able to do that.?
UK finished third as a team in the tournament last year behind Vanderbilt and Indiana who finished first and second, respectively. Brandon Waldrop was the Cats best golfer as he fired a three-day 224 and finished fourth. In 2002, Holmes claimed Kentucky?s first individual championship in the tournament since Grover Justice claimed top honors in 1995. Holmes shot a tournament record low 207 three-day total.
2003 Tournament Team Champions: Vanderbilt – 298-299-306 = 903
2003 Individual Champion: Heath Peters (Indiana) ? 70-75-75 = 220
2004 Johnny Owens Invitational Field:
Ball State, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, Iowa State, Kentucky, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, Marshall, Missouri, Morehead State, Ohio, Western Kentucky
