Hamilton in Contention for Top-20 Finish at Crooked Stick
CARMEL, Ind. – Senior Allen Hamilton is in contention for his third-consecutive top-20 individual finish as he paced the Kentucky men’s golf team during the opening day of play at the Crooked Stick Collegiate on Monday. The loaded field, which features four teams in the top 50, endured windy conditions throughout the tournament’s opening two rounds and the Wildcats concluded the day in 11th place at 22-over par.
“We have our work cut out for us tomorrow to have a competitive event,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “This course is championship caliber and it demands excellence. Tomorrow is a new day and we need to meet the challenge.”
Hamilton is 3-over par following rounds of 75 and 72. He finished the day tied for 18th on the individual leaderboard and is in vying for a third-straight top-20 finish to begin the 2019-20 campaign. Six of the last eight rounds he’s played have been par or better. Consecutive birdies at the par-four 10th and the par-five 11th highlighted his even-par second round.
Georgia leads the field at 4-under par. Vanderbilt is two shots back of the Bulldogs’ pace and Marquette is third at 1-over. From there, nine teams are within 13 shots of each other heading into Tuesday’s final round.
Junior Garrett Wood, appearing in his second event as a Wildcat, concluded the day tied for 27th behind two rounds of 74. He birdied the 11th during both rounds on Monday.
Sophomore Zach Norris is tied for 52nd with rounds of 77 and 76. Redshirt freshman Alex Goff ended the day tied for 62nd after carding a 78 during the opening round and a 77 in round two. Freshman Cooper Parks matched Goff’s placement. Parks led the Wildcats with a 1-over par 73 in the opening round, but shot an 82 during round two.
Teams will tee off of the No. 1 and No. 10 holes beginning at 9 a.m. ET on Tuesday. Live stats will be available via golfstat.com.
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