Wildcats Set to Open Season at Island Resort Intercollegiate
HARRIS, Mich. – The Kentucky men’s golf team will get its fall season underway when it begins play at the Island Resort Intercollegiate at Sage Run on Sunday.
The 54-hole event will feature 10 teams and play begins with two rounds on Sunday before concluding with a final round on Monday.
Kentucky’s starting five features Allen Hamilton, Jacob Cook, Zach Norris, Alex Goff and Cooper Parks. Four additional players are among the field as individuals. Matt Liston, Jay Kirchdorfer, Garrett Wood and Jackson LaLonde will all compete as well.
“This is going to be an incredible event to start our fall season,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “Sage Run, on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, is a brand new course and has a reputation of being championship quality.
“We also have the opportunity to play our entire team which will be a great chance for learning and growth for our guys. We are ready to give our very best effort to begin our 2019-20 season, but we will miss having Cullan Brown in our lineup.”
Brown is set to miss UK’s opening event with a lower-leg injury. A total of five players will make their career debuts as a Wildcat this weekend including Goff, Kirchdorfer, LaLonde, Parks and Wood.
The Island Resort Collegiate Invitational is the first signature tournament for Sage Run. Paul Albanese, ASGCA of Albanese and Lutzke Golf Couse Design, designed it. Sage Run features a large drumlin, which is a long, sloping ridge. It runs throughout the course in different directions, challenging players to interact and move along the course with it. Each hole has a unique character and feel. The course takes golfers through pine scrub, open and partially wooded areas.
South Dakota State serves as the host of this week’s 10-team event which also features Central Florida, Detroit, East Carolina, Liberty, Michigan State, North Florida, Northern Michigan and Purdue. In the season-opening Golf Coaches Association of America preseason poll, Liberty, and North Florida begin the season receiving votes for the top-25 poll.
Live stats will be available via golfstat.com.
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