Kentucky Men’s Golf Records Seventh Place in Fall Finale
LOXLEY, Ala. – Junior Garrett Wood recorded his first top-10 finish of the season, helping the Kentucky men’s golf team to an 18-over-par tournament total to finish in seventh place at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitation in Loxley, Alabama, on Sunday afternoon.
“It is time to lick our wounds and regroup over the offseason,” head coach Brian Craig said. “We have a ways to go and many areas to improve in, but I still believe in this team. The spring is where we have always made our hay, and I believe 2020 will be no different.”
Mississippi State led the tournament wire-to-wire, boasting a 14-shot advantage over the field on a final mark of 19-under-par. Arkansas finished in second, Indiana took third, Kennesaw State was fourth and Cincinnati round out the top five. Kentucky’s seventh-place finish is its third best of the season, behind a sixth-place finish to open the fall schedule at the Island Resort Intercollegiate and a third-place finish at the Bearcat Invitational.
Wood collected his first top-10 finish of the season for ninth place on his best 54-hole mark this fall at 2-over-par. In the final round on Sunday, Wood posted an even-par front nine en route to his best performance of the fall slate.
Wood formed a pair of his best rounds of golf during the first and second rounds on Saturday – a 70 and a 71. He has posted three rounds of even-par or better in 12 rounds of golf this fall, and his 2-under-par 70 fired in the second round tied his best round of the season.
Redshirt freshman Alex Goff recorded a top-20 finish at 3-over par. Goff’s performance at Steelwood gave him his team-leading third top-20 finish on the season. Goff fired an even-par round on Sunday which included a birdie on his final hole.
Senior Allen Hamilton tied for 40th following a final round of 77. Senior Matt Liston recorded back-to-back rounds of 75, placing in a tie for 55th at 11-over par. Freshman Cooper Parks found some momentum in round three with four birdies. Parks ended the weekend in a tie for 57th at 12-over par.
Redshirt freshman Jay Kirchdorfer, who played as an individual this weekend, completed his first top-20 finish of his career. He logged an even-par 72 and played his final 11 holes at 3-under par. He tied for 19th overall.
Junior Jacob Cook also played as an individual and ended in a tie for 29th at 5-over.
The Wildcats battled through tough elements on Saturday, preventing five groups from finishing their second round and leaving results incomplete. Kirchdorfer finished his second round this morning, giving Kentucky an eighth-place finish after the second round on a second-round score of 2-over-par.
This concludes Kentucky’s fall schedule. UK returns to action at the TPC Dorado Beach Collegiate in Dorado, Puerto Rico Feb. 23-25.
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