Wildcats Finish in Fourth, Meyer Earns Top-10 Finish at Shoal Creek
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Led by a career performance from senior Fred Allen Meyer the Kentucky men’s golf team concluded its regular season slate with a fourth-place showing at the Shoal Creek Invitational on Tuesday. Meyer finished in a tie for ninth overall paced by a career-low 65 during second round action.
“It was absolutely fantastic seeing Fred Allen Meyer lead this team in this event,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “A 7-under par 65 at Shoal Creek is ridiculously good. That is the player he is and I am so glad to see it come out this week. Overall, we are making progress. We have much work to do, but I like our direction.”
Meyer finished the week 1-over par for the tournament and claimed his fifth-career top-10 finish and second of the spring season with the tie for ninth. The Nicholasville, Kentucky, native was powered by the spectacular second round that featured eight total birdies.
He opened the round by birding each of his first three holes to gain momentum in a hurry. He concluded the front nine at 5-under par with two more birdies at the par-five sixth and the par-four ninth. After making the turn, Meyer suffered the only setback of his round with a bogey at the 10th. He wasted little time in combating the error with another string of three straight birdies at the 13, 14 and 15. He played par the rest of the way for the 7-under round. It bettered his previous career-low round by two strokes and tied for the second-lowest round in the Craig era.
Meyer rounded out the tournament with a 76 after the teams were forced to play 36 holes on Tuesday after round one was halted by darkness.
Senior Lukas Euler scored a tie for 14th with a round of 70 during Tuesday’s opening 18 holes. Euler was 2-over par for the tournament and has garnered 18 career top-20 finishes, including a team-leading four this season. Euler played 2-under par through the first 18 holes for his 51st career par-or-better round. The round was highlighted by an eagle at the par-five No. 3. He shot a 76 in the third round.
Freshman Cullan Brown continued his strong play of late with a tie for 18th overall. It is third career top-20 finish and second straight. Brown had rounds of 73 and 71 on Tuesday. His 71 over the final 18 holes of play was a team-low mark.
Rounding out Kentucky’s starting lineup was senior Max Mehles and junior Matt Liston. The duo finished in ties for 44th and 55th, respectively. They each fired a round of 2-over-par 74 in Tuesday’s morning session for their best rounds of the tournament.
Kentucky concluded its regular-season action with a fourth-place showing at Shoal Creek. The Wildcats have generated their two best performances of the season over the final two events of the year as they gear up for postseason play. UK finished ahead of No. 13 Auburn and No. 22 Tennessee with a 15-over-par score for the week. No. 24 Alabama claimed the team title with 12th-ranked LSU 19 strokes off the Tide’s pace. North Florida finished a mere three strokes ahead of the Wildcats for third, while UK was two shots in front of UAB who rounded out the top five.
UK had four individuals in action during the Shoal Creek Invitational. Junior Allen Hamilton and sophomore Jacob Cook both tied for 39th. Hamilton fired a round of 72 during Tuesday’s afternoon session. It was a round that featured two birdies on the back nine. Cook registered a round of 71 during the morning session, which was his second-lowest round of the season. He produced five birdies during the round.
Senior Fadhli Soetarso and redshirt freshman Zach Norris matched Liston’s tie for 55th.
Kentucky will return to action next week at the Southeastern Conference Championship beginning on April 24. The SEC Championship will mirror the NCAA Championship with stroke play over the opening three days before match play concludes the week to crown a champion.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s golf team, follow @UKMensGolf on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.
