Seniors Mark Blakefield, John Holmes, Brandon Waldrop and Matt Wells, along with junior Matt Kohn, will compete for the NCAA crown this weekend in Owings Mills, Md. The tournament is a four-day, 72-hole event that runs from Wednesday-Saturday, June 1-4, at the par 70 Caves Valley Golf Club.
Kentucky played at Caves Valley earlier this season, Sept. 26-27, when they participated in the Ping Preview and finished eighth.
The 2005 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship is the 108th annual golf championship hosted by the NCAA. Loyola College is the smallest school to ever host an NCAA Division I Championship.
This marks the sixth trip to the NCAA tournament for Kentucky and the third in four years under the direction of reigning SEC Coach of the Year Brian Craig. Holmes, Waldrop and Blakefield will play in their third straight NCAA tournament, while Wells (2004) and Kohn (2003) make their second appearance in the national championship.
Holmes, Blakefield, Waldrop and Wells each competed in the event in 2004 and led the Wildcats to an eighth-place finish ? the best in school history.
?This is the last tournament for these four seniors and I feel like we?ve got a little unfinished business from last year,? said Craig. ?Hopefully, our experience last year will play dividends and if given the opportunity to get in the hunt again come that last day, I think we?ll be ready to play our best golf.
?Regardless of what happens, I?m extremely proud of these guys and the season they?ve had,? added Craig. ?Winning the SEC championship is a huge accomplishment already. We?re going to go out and play our best and hopefully, our best will be good enough to contend for a national championship.?
Caves Valley Golf Club’s course was designed by world-renowned architect Tom Fazio and opened for play in 1991. In just 14 years of existence, Caves Valley has already hosted the 2002 U.S. Senior Open Championship, the 1995 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, and the 1997 and 2004 A.J.G.A. Canon Cup Tournaments.
The Top-10 teams and top two individuals at this past weekend’s East, Central and West Regionals advance to the 30-team, 156-player field in Baltimore, Md. Top-ranked Oklahoma State and No. 1 seeds Augusta State, Wake Forest and UNLV headline this year’s field, which is equally strong from top-to-bottom.
The Tournament takes place over four days with 18 holes played on each day of competition. After 56 holes, the field will be cut to the top 15 teams and top six individuals not on an advancing team.
Qualifying teams are Wake Forest (East), Augusta State (Central), UNLV (West), Tennessee (East), Oklahoma State (Central), New Mexico (West), Georgia (East), Texas A&M (Central), Washington (West), Florida (East), Tulsa (Central), UCLA (West), Georgia State (East), Kentucky (Central), Arizona State (West), Alabama (East), Arkansas (Central), BYU (West), Georgia Tech (East), Missouri (Central), San Diego State (West), Coastal Carolina (East), SMU (Central), Arizona (West), Duke (East), Texas (Central), Stanford (West), Georgia Southern (East), Purdue (Central), Southern California (West).
Individual qualifiers include Rhys Davies (East Tennessee State), Martin Ureta (North Carolina), Korey Mahoney (Eastern Michigan), Judd Easterling (Wichita State), Gregg LaVoie (Oregon) and Michael Putnam (Pepperdine).
Teams will be paired in groups of three for the first-and second-rounds, taking into account their finish in the regional tournaments. Third-and fourth-round pairings will be by position according to score. Check back later for more detailed pairings and tee times.
Tickets for the tournament are 36 dollars for all-session passes, 12 dollars daily for each of the first three rounds and 15 dollars for the final round.
Fans may also follow all the action and live scoring by logging on to www.ukathletics.com.
