Oct. 8, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. — After a top-15 finish by senior Brian Belden at the Gary Koch Intercollegiate last weekend, the University of Kentucky men’s golf team looks to post more impressive finishes starting Saturday at the Philadelphia Big 5 Invitational in Philadelphia. The 36-hole tournament will be played at Plymouth Country Club at par 70, with a yardage of 6610.
Kentucky will send a rotation consisting of one senior, three sophomores and one freshman to the tournament. Belden and sophomore Chase Parker fill the top of the rotation for Kentucky with both players coming off top-35 finishes last week at the Gary Koch Intercollegiate.
Belden, a native of Emmaus, Pa., will return to his home state looking for his second straight top-15 finish. The senior scored an even-par score of 216 to finish 15th at the Gary Koch Intercollegiate for his best finish of the year. Belden has a season stroke average of 76.67, good for third on the UK team.
Parker, who has finished in the top 35 in both tournaments this season for UK, will also make the trip for Kentucky. The native of Augusta, Ga., Parker saved his best round for last at the Gary Koch Intercollegiate, scoring a 1-under-par 71 in final round. On the season, Parker has a team-low season stroke average of 74.17 and one top-25 finish (T-23rd Wolf Run Intercollegiate).
Sophomores Seth Blann and Joseph Barr fill the No. 3 and No. 4 spots in the UK rotation. Both players have played in ever tournament this year for UK. Last week, Blann finished in a tie for 44th for his best finish of the season, while Barr scored a top-30 finish at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate for his best finish of the season.
Freshman Stephen Powers fills the final spot in the UK rotation, getting his second shot a collegiate action. The native of Naperville, Ill., played in Kentucky’s first tournament of the year at the Wolf Run Intercollegiate, scoring a 54-hole score of 233 and finishing 68th.
Freshman Cody Martin will continue his streak of consecutive tournaments played, having played in all three tournaments for UK this season. Martin, a native of Union, Ky., will play in the Philadelphia Big Five Invitational as an individual.
The 2010 field features 21 teams, including the six city schools: Temple, Penn, Drexel, St. Joseph’s, La Salle, and Villanova, as well as Binghamton, Brown, Campbell, Cornell, Dartmouth, Francis Marion, Fordham, Furman, Harvard, Princeton, Rhode Island, St. John’s, Seton Hall, and Yale.
Campbell took the team title last year with a 587 (+19) led by individual champion Zak Drescher (-2).
Complete results can be found at www.golfstat.com.
