WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ? John Holmes recorded his eighth top-10 finish of the season and led the Kentucky men?s golf team to a third-place finish at the Boilermaker Invitational in West Lafayette, Ind., Sunday afternoon.
Holmes shot a 2-under-par 70 in the final round to finish at 4-under-par with a 212 (72-70-70), which was six strokes behind tournament champion Kane Webber from the University of Colorado, who shot a 206 (71-69-66). Purdue, the tournament host, claimed team honors by shooting an 855 (285-277-293) three-day total ahead of Colorado, which finished second with an 857 (288-284-285). UK finished at 3-over-par as a team with an 867 (291-280-296).
?I thought we had a pretty good tournament against a good field,? Coach Brian Craig said. ?We beat some very good teams, but we just didn?t play well enough to compete with Purdue and Colorado.?
Kentucky?s Brandon Waldrop (73-70-74=217) and Tyler Wilson (73-70-75=218) finished tied for 14th and 18th, respectively. Wilson played in UK?s lineup in place of Matt Kohn, who was unable to make the trip. The sophomore from Lexington has seen limited action in the Wildcats? lineup, but has played particularly well in the team?s most recent tournaments. Mark Blakefield (74-70-77=221) and Matt Wells (73-75-77=225) rounded out Kentucky?s five-man lineup in the tournament.
?I?m really proud of Tyler Wilson,? Craig said. ?He is on his way to becoming a terrific player.?
The Wildcats defeated three teams that are currently ranked in the GolfStat ratings Top-25 at the Boilermaker Invitational (No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 13 TCU and No. 19 Oklahoma) and got practice on the course that will be used for the NCAA Central Region Championships, May 20-22.
However, before the Cats vie for the region title, they will compete against the finest golf teams in the Southeastern Conference in Sea Island, Ga., April 16-18 at the SEC Championships.
?Hopefully this will help us going into the conference championships,? Craig said. ?Overall, it was a positive effort and our guys had a great chance to play on the course and gain some confidence.?
Kentucky Scores
T-3 John Holmes 72-70-70=212
T-14 Brandon Waldrop 73-70-74=217
T-18 Tyler Wilson 73-70-75=218
T-27 Mark Blakefield 74-70-77=221
T-42 Matt Wells 73-75-77=225
Team Scores
1 Purdue University 285-277-293=855
2 Colorado, U. of 288-284-285=857
3 Kentucky, U. of 291-280-296=867
4 Texas Christian 293-285-294=872
5 Indiana University 297-288-293=878
6 Northwestern 292-288-302=882
7 Illinois, U. of 289-290-304=883
8 Oklahoma State U. 295-292-297=884
9 Kent State 286-300-299=885
10Oklahoma, U. of 301-287-299=887
11 Louisville, U. of 294-287-307=888
12 Kansas State Univ. 300-289-300=889
13 Miami (Ohio) 297-299-300=896
14 Michigan, U. of 301-297-303=901
15 Notre Dame, U. of 303-302-303=908
16 Michigan State U. 307-298-310=915
17 Iowa, U. of 309-304-306=919
18 Wisconsin, U. of 301-315-312=928
