McDaniel Cards Career-Low 65 on Final Day

GASTONIA, N.C. – Tyler “Chip” McDaniel fired a blistering 7-under-par 65, the lowest round of his collegiate career, during the final round of the Gary Koch Invitational at Gaston Country Club on a sunny Tuesday where the weather couldn’t have been any better for golf. Though the Wildcats finished in seventh place as a team with a 7-over par total of 871, they saved their best golf for the final day and tied the second lowest score of the final round at 7-under par (281).

 

 

“We had an awfully tough 36-hole day yesterday. Gaston Country Club simply ate our lunch. Today was a different story. I could not be prouder of the guys for a terrific bounce-back round today. And how about Chip McDaniel with a 65 that included a 30 on the front nine?  That is absolutely fantastic. We now need to diligently prepare for the SEC Championship.  I believe in this team and know our best golf is still in front of us.” 

 

 

McDaniel climbed 32 notches on the leaderboard and tied for ninth place at 2-under par, earning his fourth top-10 finish this season. UK’s All-American started off on the right foot with a birdie at the long par-5 first hole before he saw another birdie on the fourth hole. The junior played the first five holes of the scenic front nine at 2-under par before rattling off four straight birdies to close out the side for a smoldering 6-under-par 30 on the side. He slipped up at the 10th hole with a bogey – his only blemish on the scorecard all day – but stayed poised and strung along five pars in a row before nabbing back-to-back birdies at the par-4 16th and 17th holes, ultimately finishing with a 1-under par 35 on the back nine. McDaniel’s stellar play on Tuesday gave him his fifth sub-70 round of the season. 

 

Lukas Euler earned his fifth top-25 finish of the season after some good golf throughout landed him in a tie for 23rd place at 1-over-par, his best finish since the Schenkel Invitational. The sophomore fired a 2-over par 74 on the final day of play.

 

Cooper Musselman played his best golf of the week in the final round. The junior fired his fourth under-par round of his last seven after he entered the clubhouse with a 1-under par 71 on Tuesday. Musselman tied for 29th place at 2-over-par, which is only the second time he’s finished outside of the top-25 this season.  

 

Evan Cox, playing as an individual, rounded out his fourth event of the season with a 77 that placed him in a tied for 34th at 4-over par.

 

Stephen Stallings bounced back nicely as he also found himself in the red numbers on the final day. The senior fired a 1-under-par 71, his best score of the event and third under-par round in his last six attempts. Stallings shot 1-over par on the front nine, but, as he’s shown many times this season, rebounded to shoot 2-under on the back nine. He tied for 49th at 8-over par. 

 

Individuals Matt Liston and Fadhli Soetarso finished tied for 55th and 58th place, respectively after rounds of 77. Fred Allen Meyer finished tied for 60th.

 

 

UK won the Gary Koch Invitational in 2004, placed second in 2005 and third in 2015. 

 

No. 20 Auburn took home the first place trophy after shooting 18-under par for the week. N.C. State, ranked 43rd, finished in second place at 10-under par while Coastal Carolina rounded out the top three at 2-under. 

  

 

The 18-hole “Gaston” course at the Gaston Country Club facility in Gastonia, North Carolina features 7,042 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 72. The course rating is 74.4 and it has a slope rating of 135 on Bermuda grass.  Designed by Ellis Maples, the Gaston golf course opened in 1958. 

 

 

Kentucky moves on to the postseason with the SEC Championship, held at Seaside Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia, on April 21-24.

 

 

T9 – Chip McDaniel 78, 71, 65 – 214 (-2)

T23 – Lukas Euler 71, 72, 74 – 217 (+1)

T29 – Cooper Musselman 73, 74, 71 – 218  (+2)

*T39 – Evan Cox 73, 70, 77 – 220 (+4)

T49 – Stephen Stallings 75, 78, 71 – 224 (+8)

*T55 – Matt Liston 77, 73, 77 – 227 (+11)

*T58 – Fadhli Soetarso 75, 76, 77 – 228  (+12)

T60 – Fred Allen Meyer 76, 78, 75 – 229 (+13)

  

* competing as individual