Wildcats Selected for Athens Regional
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fresh off a run to the semifinals of match play at the Southeastern Conference Championship, the Kentucky men’s golf team was selected to the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship. Kentucky made the field of 81 teams and will compete in the Athens Regional in Athens, Georgia at the University of Georgia Golf Course, May 13-15.
This marks the 12th time and fourth year in a row under head coach Brian Craig that the Wildcats have advanced to postseason play.
“I’m so proud of these guys for the way that we’ve played this spring,” Craig said. “I feel like we’re trending in the right direction and are going into regionals with a lot of momentum. We are excited to go to Athens and play at Georgia’s terrific golf course. Now, it’s time to buckle down and have a great week of preparation and go compete.”
The 13-team regional features four other teams from the Southeastern Conference, including the host 14th-ranked Bulldogs, No. 4 Vanderbilt, No. 21 Alabama and Tennessee. The remainder of the field includes No. 9 Duke, No. 19 Liberty, Campbell, Nevada, SMU, Memphis, UNC Wilmington and Princeton.
Kentucky has played its best golf of the season over the last month. It began with a fourth-place showing at the Mason Rudolph Championship, which included a then season-low round of 279 to begin the week. Freshman Cullan Brown logged a Craig-era record with a round of 64 to begin the tournament en route to his first career top-10 finish on the individual leaderboard.
That momentum carried into a fourth-place finish at the Shoal Creek Invitational, the team’s final regular-season event. Senior Fred Allen Meyer led the way there with a top-10 individual finish and a career-low round of 65. Senior Lukas Euler and Brown also charted top-20 finishes.
The Wildcats put together their best performance of the season at the SEC Championship. For the first time in the three-year history of match play as a part of the event, the Wildcats were one of eight teams to advance after 54-holes of stroke play. UK finished stroke play in a tie for third. That included a season-low round of 275 and the fourth-lowest tournament score (843) under Craig. Brown, Euler and senior Max Mehles all tied for ninth to pace the squad.
During match play, Kentucky handily defeated No. 22 Tennessee, 4-1-0. Meyer, Brown, Mehles and Euler all won their matchups. Against No. 16 and top-seeded Auburn, junior Matt Liston performed admirably to get UK its first point of the matchup in a 2&1 win. Euler also secured a point for the Wildcats; however the Tigers prevailed in the third playoff hole to take the edge 3-2-0.
The Wildcats return three starters from the 2018 team that helped the Cats advance to the final weekend of the season in Meyer, Mehles and Euler.
The field is comprised of 81 teams and 45 individuals and will compete in six regional sites, May 13-15 (13 teams and 10 individuals at three regionals and 14 teams and five individuals at three regionals). Thirty teams and six individuals will advance from regional sites to the National Championship to be played May 24-29 at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The six regional sites include Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Washington, hosted by Washington State University; Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, California, hosted by Stanford University; TPC Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, hosted by Coastal Carolina University and Myrtle Beach Regional Sports Alliance; University of Louisville Golf Club in Simpsonville, Kentucky, hosted by the University of Louisville; University of Georgia Golf Course in Athens, Georgia, hosted by the University of Georgia; and University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas, hosted by the University of Texas.
This marks the 12th postseason regional appearance for Kentucky under the direction of Craig. The Wildcats placed fifth in 2018, seventh in 2017, fourth in 2016 and 2014, 10th in 2013, ninth in 2009, 17th in 2008, 10th in 2006, fourth in 2005, first in 2004 and sixth in 2003.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s golf team, follow @UKMensGolf on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.
