McDaniel Shines as UK Ends Day One in the Hunt
DAY ONE RESULTS
BRYAN, Texas – Senior Chip McDaniel birdied four consecutive holes en route to a 3-under score to lead the way for the Kentucky men’s golf team on the opening day of play at the NCAA Bryan Regional.
The Wildcats sit in eighth place and are just five shots outside of the coveted top five slots on the leaderboard. The top five teams from the Bryan Regional will advance to the NCAA Championship in Stillwater, Oklahoma, later this month.
The host Texas A&M Aggies lead following 18 holes of play with a 9-under score. Baylor is second (-6), Clemson is third (-5), while UCLA (E) and South Carolina (+5) round out the top five.
“We battled today, but the course got the best of us,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “Thank goodness for Chip McDaniel keeping us in this thing. This is a marathon and we just need to bounce back with a solid round.”
McDaniel, beginning play at the 10th, paved the way for the Wildcats during round one. The Manchester, Kentucky, native fired a 3-under, 69, with six birdies on the afternoon and sits tied for fourth overall on the individual leaderboard. He began his day with four pars before getting into red numbers on the par-five 15th. A birdie on the par-four 17th pushed his score to 2-under heading into the turn. A minor setback on the second was combated with four straight birdies on holes four, five, six and seven.
Junior Fred Allen Meyer turned in a solid effort with a 1-over, 73. Meyer pared his opening six holes before bogeys on the 16th and first set him back two strokes. It did not faze the Nicholasville, Kentucky, native as he fired back with a birdie on the par-five eighth for his final 1-over score. He’s tied for 22nd on the individual leaderboard heading into round two.
Junior Lukas Euler is tied for 59th, senior Cooper Musselman is tied for 65th and freshman Max Mehles capped the day tied for 69th to round out UK’s scoring.
The Wildcats will tee off from the 10th at 9:55 a.m. ET on Tuesday.
The Tournament Setup
Teams: No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 11 Baylor, No. 14 Clemson, No. 23 Kentucky, UCLA, Ole Miss, South Carolina, San Francisco, Georgia, Mississippi State, UNC Wilmington, Northern Colorado, Bradley
Course Details: The course was constructed in 2004 with Jack Nicklaus and Jack Nicklaus Jr., serving as the architects. It’s played on Bermuda grass year round nestled among majestic native hardwoods, rolling hillsides and the natural banks of the Turkey Creek.
Format: Three-day, 54-hole event stroke play. Count top four scores each day.
Live Look: Live stats are available via golfstat.com.
Forecast: Tuesday (Partly cloudy, high of 92, 10% chance of rain, SSW 9 mph); Wednesday (Partly cloudy, high of 92, 20% chance of rain, SSW 11 mph)
Agate
8 – Kentucky (298, +10)
T4 – Chip McDaniel (69, -3)
T22 – Fred Allen Meyer (73, +1)
T59 – Lukas Euler (77, +5)
T65 – Cooper Musselman (79, +7)
T69 – Max Mehles (80, +8)
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s golf team, follow @UKMensGolf on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.
