March 28, 2009
AWENDAW, S.C.– Fresh off a fifth-place finish in the Schenkel E-Z-Go Invitational, the Kentucky men’s golf team heads to Awendaw, S.C., for the fifth-annual Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate held on the Bulls Bay 5,596-yard, par-72 golf course.
Kentucky Head Coach Brian Craig calls upon his consistent starting five throughout the 2008-09 spring season. Senior co-captains Andy Winnings and Ben Fuqua will be called upon to anchor the team as junior Jordan Blann, sophomore James Kania and freshman Mads Kristensen, round out the starting lineup for the Wildcats for the fifth straight tournament. Winings, a native of Brownsburg, Ind., leads the team with a 73.80 stroke average.
Success is no stranger for Kentucky after winning its inaugural outing in Hootie at Bulls Bay in March 2005.
The strong 15-team field has five top 25 teams, including No. 5 Clemson, who is currently ranked No. 5 by Golfweek and leads the field. Also competing, No. 15 UCF, No. 22 NC State, No. 23 LSU, No. 24 Wake Forest, No. 30 Chattanooga, No. 46 Georgia State, No. 49 Augusta State, College of Charleston, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina-Aiken and Virginia.
Against the two other Southeastern Conference opponents, LSU and South Carolina, participating in the Hootie at Bulls Bay, Kentucky is a combined 2-4 during the 2008-09 spring season.
The 54-hole tournament will be played over three days starting Sunday morning with a 7:45 EDT shotgun start for the first 18 holes followed by 9:00 a.m. tee times both Monday and Tuesday.
In the eight years with Coach Craig at the helm, Kentucky has played in a South Carolina tournament in all but one year while the Hootie at Bulls Bay marks the second trip this spring season. In UK’s last visit to South Carolina, the Wildcats finished seventh at the General Jim Hackler Championship. Kentucky has won two Palmetto State tournaments in the Craig Era, the first coming in September 2003 at the rain shortened Kiawah Island Invite, then again in March 2005, at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate.
The tournament benefits the Hootie and the Blowfish Foundation which was established in April 2000 to support music education for all students throughout the nation.
Live scoring can be found on golfstat.com throughout the tournament and a recap of each day’s action can be found on UKathletics.com following the conclusion of play.
