Musselman Leads Wildcats to Second Place on Day One
Day One Results
STATESBORO, Ga. – Behind red numbers from seniors Cooper Musselman and Chip McDaniel the Kentucky men’s golf team concluded its opening round of play at the Schenkel Invitational in second place with a two-shot lead over third-place Mississippi State.
Musselman is tied for fourth on the individual leaderboard behind a 4-under 68 during the opening round of play. McDaniel was nearly as impressive with a 2-under 70 to end the round in a tie for 11th.
Vanderbilt leads the field and enters the second round with a nine-stroke advantage.
“We played well today,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “Cooper and Tyler (McDaniel) were very good and led the way as our senior co-captains. We have a long ways to go, but are in a good position. Let’s see if we can keep it going and turn it up a notch.”
Kentucky is in the hunt for a fourth team title of the season after taking home three trophies during the fall slate. Musselman and McDaniel are both seeking their first top-10 finishes of the spring season after garnering a combined four such finishes earlier this year.
Sophomore Matt Liston, competing as an individual, posted a 1-under 71 and is tied for 16th for his best round of the spring.
Players will return to the course and begin play at 10:30 a.m. ET off the No. 1 tee.
Player Roundup
Musselman secured a flawless round with four birdies and no bogeys. He opened the round with three consecutive pars before a birdie on the par-four fourth jumpstarted his round. The Louisville, Kentucky, native found red numbers on the par-five seventh to make the turn at 2-under. He continued to put pressure to the course with birdies on back-to-back holes at the 11th and 12th to push his scorecard to a 4-under round. Musselman finished the day by playing even par the rest of the way to secure the team’s top score.
McDaniel began his day in impressive fashion by getting off to a fast start with birdies on both the No. 1 and No. 2. A bogey on the third was combated with a birdie on the par-four fourth. He picked up another stroke with a red number on the sixth making the turn at 3-under par. He moved to 4-under with a birdie on par-three 13th, before finishing the day with two bogeys over his final four holes for a 2-under combined score.
Liston had three birdies on the afternoon to help play the day under par. Red numbers on the 12th and 17th along with no setbacks over the final five holes enabled him to earn his first under par score of the spring season and the third such round on the year.
Junior Lukas Euler concluded his day in a tie for 22nd with an even-par 72. Euler’s day was highlighted by a birdie on the par-five 18th to cap his round in stylish fashion. It marked the 10th such round of the season for Euler.
Junior Fred Allen Meyer is tied for 35th following a 1-over 73 through the opening 18 holes. Freshman Max Mehles concluded his round in a tie for 58th after carding a 75 on Friday.
The Tournament Setup
Teams: College of Charleston, East Tennessee State, Florida, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi State, NC State, Notre Dame, Richmond, Vanderbilt, UAB
Course Details: The 18-hole Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Georgia is a private golf course that opened in 1947. Designed by George Cobb, Forest Heights Country Club measures 6962 yards from the longest tees and has a slope rating of 133 and a 73.6 USGA rating.
Format: Three-day, 54-hole event. Count top four scores each day
Schedule of Play: Players will play 18 holes each day
Live Look: Live stats are available via golfstat.com.
Forecast: Saturday (50% chance of scattered thunderstorms, high of 78), Sunday (mostly sunny, high of 80)
Agate
2 – Kentucky (283, -5)
T4 – Cooper Musselman (68, -4)
T11 – Chip McDaniel (70, -2)
*T16 – Matt Liston (71, -1)
T22 – Lukas Euler (72, E)
T35 – Fred Allen Meyer (73, +1)
T58 – Max Mehles (75, +3)
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s golf team, follow @UKMensGolf on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.
