Aug. 13, 2009
ALVATON, Ky. — Behind a 2-under-par 70 in the final round, incoming Kentucky golf freshman Cody Martin finished second in the 2009 Powerbilt Kentucky Open Amateur Division, while three other Wildcats finished in the top 12 in the amateur division at The Club at Olde Stone, Thursday afternoon.
Martin, who finished second at the 2009 Kentucky Junior Amateur earlier this summer, finished tied for sixth overall in the tournament, which included both amateurs and professionals. Martin’s impressive round of 70 on Thursday was the second-lowest round of the day. The only lower round was that of Matt Savage’s, who shot a 69 to claim his second Kentucky Open Title with an overall score of 211. Martin, a native of Union, Ky., started the tournament with a 1-over-par 73 in the first round, and except for his 6-over-par 78 in the second round Wednesday, he played maybe the best golf of the tournament. Only a handful of golfers all week were able to post under-par scores at the difficult Olde Stone course, and Martin was one of few. Martin finished the Open with a combined 221 for the 54-hole tournament, only one stroke behind the eventual amateur champion.
“Cody is entering school on a very positive note after having a very solid performance in the Kentucky Open this week,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “I am also proud of the way Jordan Blann and the rest of the team played as well. Olde Stone is a difficult course and will prepare them very well for our fall schedule.”
Blann finished the tournament in a tie for third place on the amateur leaderboard after posting a 4-over-par 76 in the final round. Blann, who won the Kentucky-Am earlier this summer, was in a tie for fifth place overall heading into the final round after an impressive 2-under-par 70 on Wednesday. The native of Bowling Green, Ky., finished tied for eighth overall, 11 strokes behind the overall winner and two strokes behind the amateur champion.
Senior Derek Oldham played some of the best golf of his summer this week as well, finishing tied for seventh in the amateur division with a 4-over-par 76 in the final round. The native of Lexington, Ky., finished the tournament with a 227 overall, good enough for a tie for 19th place in the overall tournament. Oldham played consistent golf all week with all three rounds being 5-over-par or less.
Senior Ben Fuqua’s strong summer continued as well as the native of Danville, Ky., finished the Kentucky Open in 12th position in the amateur division and tied for 25th overall. After opening the tournament with an even-par 72, Fuqua posted back-to-back 6-over-par 78s in the final two rounds to end the tournament with a 54-hole total of 228. Fuqua has also had great finishes in The Players Am and the Kentucky-Am so far this summer and will play in the U.S. Amateur later this month.
Sophomore Chase Carpenter made the cut to the final 71 players after a solid first two rounds of the Open. The native of Saylersville, Ky., carded an 82 in the final round to finish in a tie for 28th in the amateur division and a top-50 showing overall.
Kentucky will kick off the fall portion of its tournament schedule when it travels to Zionsville, Ind., to co-host the Wolf Run Intercollegiate tournament the second week of September.
