Wildcats Open Play at Crooked Stick Collegiate on Monday
CARMEL, Ind. – The Kentucky men’s golf team begins play in its third fall event on Monday at the Crooked Stick Collegiate at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Indiana. The 54-hole event will feature 14 teams and play begins with two rounds on Monday before concluding with a final round on Tuesday.
Kentucky’s starting five features senior Allen Hamilton, redshirt freshman Alex Goff, sophomore Zach Norris, junior Garrett Wood and freshman Cooper Parks.
“What a privilege it is to compete on a championship course like Crooked Stick,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “You learn how to play golf on a course like this where every aspect of your game is tested. This is also the best field of the fall for us and that makes it even better. We have a had a solid week of preparation and are ready to compete.”
Kentucky finished third at the Bearcat Invitational to begin the month of October in its last time out. The Wildcats utilized a season-low round of 279 during the second round to move into contention and finished strong with a solid third round. Hamilton tied for fourth to turn in the best collegiate performance of his career. The Louisville, Kentucky, native earned a 5-under par 208 and had three rounds of par or better to lead the way for the Wildcats. Goff tied for 13th and joins Hamilton as the two Wildcats who have garnered top-20 finishes in both of the team’s first two tournaments of the 2019-20 season.
Built in 1964 by Pete and Alice Dye, Crooked Stick was host to the PGA Championship in 1991 and the US Women’s Open in 1993. The 18-hole course plays at 7,516 and a par 72 from all tee boxes. Conceived following an extended tour of British courses, the Dyes rejected conventional golf holes in favor of radical ones. Using bulkheads of vertical telephone poles to create abrupt change and long expanse of sand to emulate dunes, they opened the back nine first with Mackenzie-style boomerang greens. The front nine came two years later with lines and angles appropriated from Donald Ross. Crooked Stick was the first Dye course to host a major championship.
The Wildcats will make their third appearance in the event since 2015. In a run of three straight tournament victories to begin the 2017-18 season, UK won the event in its last appearance in 2017.
Indiana serves as the host of this week’s 14-team event, which also features Ball State, Cincinnati, College of Charleston, Georgia, Illinois, Marquette, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, UNC Greensboro, Vanderbilt. As of Friday’s Golfweek rankings, Georgia is No. 25 in the country, the Illini are rated No. 27, Northwestern is No. 38 and the Commodores come in at No. 48.
The Cats will play alongside Ball State and UNC Greensboro beginning at 9 a.m. ET off holes eight, nine and 10. Live stats will be available via golfstat.com.
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