March 8, 2009

MURRELLS INLET, S.C. – Tying his career-low, team-leading five-over-par 71, freshman Mads Kristensen paced Kentucky to a tie for sixth place on a very windy day at the General Jim Hackler Championship after the first two rounds.

Freshmen Mads Kristensen leads Kentucky with a two-round total 149 and sits in a tie for the 20th spot with the final 18 holes being played Monday.

Senior co-captain Ben Fuqua is tied for 25th after firing a six-over par. In his third consecutive start this spring season, sophomore James Kania is tied for 31st.

Senior co-captain Andy Winings is tied for the 42nd spot after shooting a 75 and 78 while junior Jordan Blann rounds out the scoring for UK at 13-over par and is tied for the 60th spot.The 54-hole tournament features an elite 14-team field that is no stranger to success as each squad reached the 2008 NCAA Regionals, with five advancing to the NCAA Championship, including defending national champion UCLA. The tournament has two Big 10 teams, four ACC programs and Southeastern Conference foe South Carolina.Participating team rankings include No. 8 Illinois, No. 10 South Carolina, No. 22 UCLA, No. 27 East Tennessee State, No. 32 Lamar, No. 34 Wake Forest, No. 35 N.C. State, No. 36 Duke, No. 38 Pepperdine, No. 41 Augusta State and No. 50 CCU. Also, Ohio State and North Carolina will join Kentucky among the field.

The tournament also features nine of the top 50 players in the country according to Golfweek’s Sagarin Performance Index.

Kentucky returns to action for the final 18-hole round Monday morning with an 8:30 a.m. (ET) shotgun start. Live scoring can be followed on golfstat.com and a full recap following the conclusion of the tournament can be found on UKathletics.com.

6 Kentucky +25 F 296 305 601T20 Mads Kristensen +5 F 71 78 149T25 Ben Fuqua +6 F 78 72 150T31 James Kania +7 F 74 77 151T42 Andy Winings +9 F 75 78 153T60 Jordan Blann +13 F 76 81 157

TEAM AGATE1. East Tennessee St. +11 F 293 294 587, 2. Pepperdine +14 F 299 291 590, 3. Wake Forest Univ. +15 F 300 291 591, 4. Coastal Carolina +19 16-18 298, 5. North Carolina State +21 F 302 295 597, 6. Kentucky +25 F 296 305 601, 7. Augusta State +27 F 304 299 603,T8. South Carolina +32 16-18 303 +17, T8. Lamar University +32 F 301 307 608, T10. UCLA +33 F 316 293 609, T10. Ohio State Univ. +33 F 301 308 609, 12. Duke University +36 13-18 303 +21, 13. Illinois +38 16-18 309 +17, 14. North Carolina +42 F 317 301 618