Feb. 22, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s golf team scored the lowest team round of the tournament to finish in second, while sophomore Chase Parker finish tied for second at the final day of the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate at Magnolia Grove Golf Course in Mobile, Ala., on Tuesday.
Kentucky (293-302-279-874) was extremely impressive in the final round, posting a 9-under-par for the lowest 18-hole round of the season en route to the lowest 54-hole tournament score of the year of 874. The final round of 279 was the eighth-lowest mark during the Brian Craig Era.
“I think this was a really nice way to start off our difficult spring schedule,” said head coach Brian Craig, who has now led Kentucky to a total of 35 top-three finishes since being named head coach in 2001. “We challenged our guys to stay patient throughout this entire week and they responded by posting the best team score of the year. Now we have to keep working hard and use this performance as a springboard to bigger and better things this spring.”
UK was led in the event by Parker (73-69-70-212), who played brilliant golf both days to finish in a tie for second place for his best collegiate finish. The native of Augusta, Ga., finished the tournament with a career-low tournament score of 4-under-par 212. After posting a season-low round of 3-under-par 69 in the second round, Parker scored a 2-under-par 70 in the final round with five birdies to seal the top-three finish. Parker finished tied for second with Jack Hiluta of South Alabama.
Freshman Cody Martin (73-73-71-217) had a breakout performance in the tournament, grabbing his best career outing by finishing tied for fourth. The native of Union, Ky., scored a career low 1-under-par 71 in the final round to end with a 54-hole score of 1-over-par 71. Martin, who was playing in the tournament as an individual, used an eagle on the par-5 fourth hole and four birdies on the back nine to grab the impressive score. Martin finished in a two-way tie for fourth with Middle Tennessee’s Brett Patterson.
Kentucky also used a career outing from sophomore Seth Blann (70-83-68-221), who shot one of the lowest rounds in the tournament with a 4-under-par 68 Tuesday. Blann finished the tournament with a 5-over-par 223, jumping into the top 20 on the leaderboard for his best career finish in a 54-hole event. The native of Bowling Green, Ky., scored two under-par rounds at the tournament, finishing the first round with a 2-under-par 70.
Sophomore Joseph Barr (74-78-71-223) and freshman Stephen Powers (76-77-74-227) each had solid rounds Tuesday, with Barr scoring a 1-under-par 71 to finish tied for 31st, while Powers saved his best round of the tournament for last with a 2-over-par 72 to finish tied for 53rd. Senior Brian Belden (84-78-70-232) shot a 2-under-par in the final round to sit in a tie for 70th at tournament’s end.
Middle Tennessee took home the team title with a 1-under-par 863, while Kentucky was five strokes better than Akron and Vanderbilt, who finished tied for third. Southeastern Conference foe Ole Miss finished in ninth at 24-over-par, while in-state rival Louisville ended in 11th at 27-over-par.
MTSU’s Jason Millard broke the course record on final day with a 9-under-par 63 to claim the individual crown.
Kentucky will be in action again Monday, March 7 at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate at Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, S.C.
For more information on the Kentucky men’s golf team, visit UKathletics.com or follow “UKmensgolf” on Twitter.
AGATE
Team Scores: 1) Middle Tennessee 292-289-282–863 (-1); 2) Kentucky 293-302-279–874; T3) Charlotte 293-298-288–879; T3) Akron 301-291-287–879; 5) Vanderbilt 293-299-289–881; 6) Memphis 301-297-284–882; 7) Southern Mississippi 300-293-291–884; 8) South Alabama 303-304-279–886; 9) Mississippi State 294-301-293–888; 10) South Florida 300-295-295–890; 11) Louisville 300-301-290–891; 12) Louisiana-Lafayette 312-295-286–893; 13) Arkansas State 302-299-297–898; 14) Illinois State 309-307-292–908; 15) Troy 311-314-294–919.
Individual Leaders: T1) Jason Millard, MT 70-72-63–205 (-11); T2) Jack Hiluta, USA 74-72-66–212 (-4); T2) Chase Parker, UK 73-69-70–212; T4) Brett Patterson, MT 74-70-73–217; T4) Cody Martin*, UK 73-73-71–217; T6) Jonathan Fly, UM 76-73-69–218; T6) Lloyd du Preez, ASU 72-72-74–218; T6) Adam Hofmann, VU 74-75-69–218; T9) six individuals with 219.
