Hamilton’s Career-Best Finish Leads Cats to Third at Bearcat
CINCINNATI, Ohio – Paced by senior Allen Hamilton who produced the first top-five individual finish of his collegiate career with three par-or-better rounds the Kentucky men’s golf team finished in third place at the Bearcat Invitational at the Coldstream Country Club on Tuesday.
The Wildcats rebounded from a tough start to the tournament to surge all the way into the top three, marking their first top-three regular-season finish since the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate in March of 2018. Kentucky concluded the opening round in a tie for ninth and chipped away at the leaderboard behind a season-low round during Monday’s second round and a solid 1-over par scorecard during Tuesday’s final round.
Louisville won the tournament and Arkansas finished second. The Wildcats were nine shots off the Razorbacks’ pace.
“We took a nice step forward this week,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “After a disastrous first nine holes in round one, we played very confident and consistent golf. I give Allen Hamilton and Alex Goff all the credit. They both did a nice job of leading the team and are both blossoming into what I call, ‘everyday players.’ It is quite satisfying to see their dedication and commitment start to pay off. We still have much to improve upon and we will be back to work on Thursday striving to get better.”
Hamilton made just his fifth career start this week at Coldstream Country Club and generated the best tournament of his career. He opened the season with a career-low finish with a tie for 15th at the Island Resort Intercollegiate and carried that momentum into the second tournament of the season.
The Louisville, Kentucky native logged a career-low round of 4-under par to begin the tournament. An even-par scorecard allowed him to conclude the opening day in a tie for sixth, but then he produced a 1-under 70 to finish in a tie for fourth at 5-under par for the tournament.
Tuesday’s round saw Hamilton shake off a rough start and remedy his play. Back-to-back bogeys at the par-three second and the par-four third put him in an early hole. He rebounded immediately with a birdie at the fourth and then played even par for the next 10 holes. With the Wildcats within reach of a top-three team finish, Hamilton performed at his best. He birdied two of the final four holes, including the par-four 18th to get to under par for the round and move into the top five on the individual leaderboard. His 208 combined score is the lowest for any UK player this season and the lowest since Cullan Brown fired a 206 at last season’s Mason Rudolph Championship in April.
Equally as impressive this week, was the steady play from redshirt freshman Alex Goff. Goff was UK’s individual leader at the Island Resort Intercollegiate with a top-10 finish in his first collegiate start. He narrowly missed going two-for-two to begin his career as he tied for 13th overall with a final round of 71. Goff was 1-under for the tournament.
Sophomore Zach Norris tied for 21st behind a final round of 71. He was 3-over for the tournament, but played par or better over the final 36 holes.
Freshman Cooper Parks tied for 35th and had a 73 on Tuesday. Over six collegiate rounds, he’s tallied three par or better rounds, including during Monday’s second round with a 1-under par.
Senior Matt Liston tied for 69th with three rounds of 77.
Although he did not start, junior Jacob Cook had an impressive week. The Frankfort, Kentucky, native matched Norris’ finish of a tie for 21st. Cook generated the lowest round of any Wildcat on Tuesday with a 3-under 69. That is the lowest score of his career and the second par or better round of the season.
Kentucky wastes little time returning to action. The Wildcats hit the course again in just two weeks at the Crooked Stick Collegiate in Carmel, Indiana beginning Oct. 14.
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