Feb. 24, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. — Led by junior Jordan Blann’s career-low, third-round 69, the Kentucky men’s golf team tied for eighth place in its second appearance at the Rio Pinar Invitational, posting a two-under par 286 in the final round. The Wildcats fired a tournament team-score of 879, good for UK’s second lowest of the year.
After a slight struggle in the first two rounds, Blann entered the third round Tuesday determined to post a good score in an effort to help the team. With a career-low 69, only his second subpar round this year, Blann helped UK move into eighth after being in 12th place after Monday’s second round. The Bowling Green, Ky., native finished tied for 46th.
“It was great to see Jordan Blann lead the way with a 69 to help the team shoot a very respectable score in the final round,” coach Brian Craig said.
Kentucky’s eighth-place performance in the Rio Pinar Invitational came against an all-star field that included 10 teams ranked in the top-75 and 13 individuals ranked in the top-100.
The senior co-captains, Andy Winings and Ben Fuqua landed the top-two overall spots for Kentucky finishing tied for ninth and tied for 27th, respectively. Winings shot a 70-74-72-216 en route to his highest three-round total of the spring season while Fuqua, 77-71-72-220, had a spring-season low 71 in the second round.
Rounding out the scoring for Kentucky was freshman Mads Kristensen who fired a 75-76-73-224 for a tie in the 53rd spot and James Kania who finished tied for 75th with a consistent 76-76-76-228. Kristensen recorded a career-low, three-round tournament score with his eight-over par 224.
“We now have our work cut out for us,” Craig said. “Our next three events are against great competition and we need to keep improving as we head into the middle of our spring season.”
