Jan. 14, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s golf team will welcome back some of the most storied letterwinners in recent history, including PGA professional J.B. Holmes and rising professional Mark Blakefield when it hosts an alumni weekend event at the Old Palm Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., Saturday through Monday.
The alumni weekend will feature the entire UK men’s golf team and coaching staff along with former UK letterwinners. The weekend will consist of several rounds of golf and a charity event Monday.
“I am so excited to get the entire UK family together again,” UK men’s golf head coach Brian Craig said. “This is a great chance for our guys to get to know our alumni and also get to listen and learn from them. We are in the middle of preparing for our 2011 spring schedule, so it’s a great chance for everybody to get some work on their game.”
Former UK greats Holmes, Blakefield, Brad Doster, Matt Kohn, Andy Winings and others are expected to be at the event. Holmes, a native of Campbellsville, Ky., has two PGA Tour victories, winning the 2006 and 2008 FBR Open. During his playing days at Kentucky, Holmes was a PING All-American three times, including first team in 2004. Holmes was also a three time All-Southeastern Conference first team selection and earned the 2005 SEC Golfer of the Year.
Blakefield is rising up the ladder in the professional ranks, having one of his best professional seasons this past year on the NGA Hooters Tour. The native of Maysville, Ky., played in seven tournaments on the Hooters tour in 2010, winning two events and making the cut in five tournaments. Blakefield finished the season in the top 10 in points on the tour.
Doster, Kohn and Winings are common names in the UK history book as all three were All-SEC second team selections. Winings and Kohn also were PING All-American honorable mention honors, while Doster was a two-time Cleveland Golf All-American Scholar.
“We want our alumni to know that they will always be a part of our program here at Kentucky,” Craig said. “We have had some great guys come through here and I am so proud of how they have represented UK well in everything they do.”
UK’s spring schedule begins Feb. 21 at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate in Mobile, Ala.
