The Kentucky golf team wrapped up play today at the NCAA Central Region tied for fourth to advance to the NCAA Championships June 1-4 at the Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md.
The Wildcats posted a 286 on the final day of play, their lowest score of the three-day event, to finish tied with Tulsa. UK?s total score was 866 (288-292-286). UK will attempt to improve on the school?s best-ever eight-place finish at the NCAA Championships a season ago.
Augusta State rallied to take the Central Region title with a low-round 281 and finished at 849 (284-284-281), passing Oklahoma State (282-283-293) who placed second. Texas A&M (863) finished third, while Arkansas and Missouri tied for sixth with scores of 870. SMU was eighth at 873, followed by Texas (874) and Purdue (875) who round out the top 10 who will head to Owings Mills along with the Wildcats.
ASU?s Kalle Edberg shot a third-round 67 to take the individual title with a three-day total of 205 (70-68-67).
Senior Matt Wells led the Wildcats for the second straight day with a third-round 70 to finish tied for ninth overall at 211 (73-68-70). Fellow senior Brandon Waldrop also shot a 70, his best round of the tournament, to tie for 11th in the individual ranks with his total score of 212 (71-71-70).
Senior Mark Blakefield and junior Matt Kohn each fired a 73 on the final day to finish at 219 (72-74-73) and 224 (72-79-73), respectively. Senior John Holmes rounded out the scoring for Kentucky with his three-day total of 230 (75-79-76).
?I can?t say enough about Matt Wells and Brandon Waldrop. I?ve got a new nickname for both of them and that is ?Mr. Postseason? because they were incredible at meeting the challenge and playing their best when it matters the most,? said head coach Brian Craig. ?You?ve got to give those guys a lot of credit because they both picked this team up on their shoulders and led us right to the NCAAs. We?re excited to get through and looking forward to practicing this week and then head to Caves Valley, hopefully, in a little better form and bring home a national championship.?
Team Results (Top 10 advance to NCAA Championships)
1. Augusta State 284-284-281=849 (+9) 2. Oklahoma State 282-283-293=858 (+18) 3. Texas A&M 290-291-282=863 (+23) 4. Tulsa 287-294-285=866 (+26) Kentucky 288-292-286=866 (+26) 6. Arkansas 295-297-278=870 (+30) Missouri 285-293-292=870 (+30) 8. SMU 288-299-286=873 (+33) 9. Texas 290-290-294=874 (+34) 10. Purdue 291-288-296=875 (+35) Wichita State 298-282-295=875 (+35) 12. Lamar 297-290-289=876 (+36) 13. Kansas 289-294-294=877 (+37) Michigan State 289-296-292=877 (+37) Notre Dame 293-302-282=877 (+37) 16. Minnesota 293-293-292=878 (+38) 17. Baylor 304-292-284=880 (+40) Kent State 290-294-296=880 (+40) TCU 292-293-295=880 (+40) 20. Kansas State 299-291-291=881 (+41) 21. Texas Tech 287-306-290=883 (+43) 22. Oklahoma 306-295-286=887 (+47) 23. Xavier 295-309-284=888 (+48) 24. IUPUI 311-312-290=913 (+73) 25. Loyola College 312-304-306=922 (+82) 26. Detroit 304-307-312=923 (+83) 27. Jackson State 310-316-308=934 (+94)
Kentucky Results
T9 Matt Wells 73 68 70 211 +1 T11 Brandon Waldrop 71 71 70 212 +2 T43 Mark Blakefield 72 74 73 219 +9 T77 Matt Kohn 72 79 73 224 +14 T108 John Holmes 75 79 76 230 +20
