Men’s Golf Returns to Action at Bearcat Invitational
LEXINGTON, Ky. – With a lineup boasting five seniors, the Kentucky men’s golf team is set to return to the course Monday to open play at the Bearcat Invitational in Cincinnati.
The two-day, 54-hole event featuring 11 teams will begin action with a 36-hole continuous day on Monday at Coldstream Country Club. A shotgun start will get things started on Monday at 8:45 a.m. ET, while Tuesday’s round of 18 holes will introduce tee times beginning at 8:45 a.m.
“Good teams do not panic and I love this group,” UK head coach Brain Craig said. “We could use a nice bounce back week at Coldstream. This is one of the finest courses we will play all year and we have Lukas Euler back from the European Tour event to enhance our lineup.
“It is also a unique event where you play six and count four scores which I love,” Craig added. “We are ready to compete and get back on the right track.”
In addition to the 27th-ranked Wildcats, the field consists of Akron, No. 18 Arkansas, Cincinnati, McNeese State, Miami (Ohio), Middle Tennessee State, Ohio State, Penn State, Western Kentucky and Xavier. Live stats will be available via golfstat.com.
Coldstream Country Club is one of Cincinnati’s premier private clubs situated on 190 idyllic acres, featuring an elite, championship 18-hole golf course. It has served as the backdrop to numerous Ohio amateur and open championships as well as USGA qualifiers.
Euler headlines the five seniors who will be joined by junior Matt Liston and redshirt freshman Zach Norris who will make his UK debut in the starting lineup.
The Wildcats won this event a season ago behind record-breaking performances. Euler, Fred Allen Meyer and Liston were all a part of that historic performance a season ago. The win at last year’s event saw UK’s starting lineup fire a staggering 32-under par, 820 score. That bettered the Craig era 54-hole tournament record previously set at 839.
Meyer and Liston both shot their career-low 54-hole tournament scores a season ago at the event. Meyer finished in a tie for 11th, the second-best finish at any tournament during his junior campaign. Liston placed in the top 32, but logged his best 18-hole score of 68 during the final round.
Euler tied for 16th and earned his second-best 54-hole tournament score, only bettered by his runner-up finish at the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate later in the season.
Seniors Max Mehles and Fadhli Soetarso will make their second-consecutive starts for the Wildcats. Soetarso garnered a tie for 27th which included his best 54-hole tournament score at UK’s opening event of the season at the Louisville Cardinal Challenge. Mehles had a team-high four top-20 finishes during UK’s spring slate a season ago.
Norris will make his UK debut in this week’s event. A redshirt freshman from McKee, Kentucky, Norris was an all-state selection at Jackson County High School and carded more than 10 top-10 finishes on the American Junior Golf Association tour.
Junior Allen Hamilton and sophomore Jacob Cook will also be among the field of individual contenders at Coldstream this week. The duo will compete as individuals.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s golf team, follow @UKMensGolf on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.
