Wildcats Head to LSU Invitational for Second Spring Event

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Fresh off its best finish of the season, the Kentucky men’s golf team returns to action at the LSU Invitational Feb. 26-28. The three-day, 54-hole event features six top-25 ranked teams according to Golfstat. 
 
The event will be played at the University Club in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the course plays over 7,227 yards and with a par of 72.
 
“The LSU Invitational is our first major test of the spring,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “The University Club is a big-boy course, and the field is absolutely stacked. We have excellent momentum coming off the Kiawah event and also have Alex Goff back in the lineup. The weekend will be a fabulous challenge and we can’t wait.”
 
Action begins for the Wildcats at 11:10 a.m. ET on Friday.
 
The Wildcats will compete in their second of five regular-season spring events. UK produced a third place showing at the Kiawah Invitational earlier in the month. The Wildcats boasted a 25-under par scorecard and had two of its three-lowest rounds of the season in their first top-three finish of the year.
 
The Lineup
 
Sophomore Alex Goff returns to the lineup after competing as an individual at the Genesis Collegiate Showcase and missing the team’s first event of the season. Goff is averaging 70.40 strokes per round and captured his first collegiate victory in the team’s opening event of the season at The Blessings Collegiate Invitational. Goff also tied for third at the Legends Collegiate Invitational during the fall. He has played 10 rounds this season and six have been sub-70 scores.
 
Graduate student Jacob Cook is coming off the best tournament of his career at the Kiawah Invitational. Cook earned his first top-20 finish with a tie for 16th at 4-under par. He shot a career-low 68 during the second round of action and finished the week by matching his career-low tournament score which he set in the final fall tournament of the season.
Junior Zach Norris led Kentucky with a tie for sixth at the Kiawah event in his first top-10 finish of the season. He is shooting 70.67 over six rounds this season. Norris carded two career-low rounds at the Kiawah and topped his career-best tournament score by six strokes with an 8-under 208. In his two starts this season, he has placed in the top two among the team’s results in both tournaments.
 
Graduate student Reid Bedell made his presence felt in his first tournament as a Wildcat at the Kiawah Invitational and returns to the starting lineup this week in Baton Rouge. Bedell tied for 10th overall behind a 6-under scorecard. He has 12 career top-10 finishes throughout his collegiate career.  
 
Much like his teammates, sophomore Cooper Parks also had a career mark playing in the Kiawah Invitational. Parks generated a career-low 68 during the opening round of the event. He finished the tournament at 1-under par and tied for 30th overall. Parks is making his ninth career start this week.
 
Senior Allen Hamilton will compete as an individual at the LSU Invitational. Hamilton has seen action in 20 career events and played more than 50 collegiate rounds. He has a pair of top-20 finishes.
 
The Tournament
 
The three-day, 54-hole event will be held Friday-Sunday at the University Club in Baton, Rouge, Louisiana.

The field consists of No. 6 Illinois, No. 11 Florida, No. 12 Georgia, No. 17 Auburn, No. 19 Vanderbilt, No. 22 Tennessee, Alabama, LSU, Arkansas State, Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Missouri. and South Carolina.

Although hosted by a Southeastern Conference program, it will mark the second straight event for the Wildcats with a field that does not consist only of SEC foes. Fans are permitted, but masks must be worn at all times and social distancing must be practiced.
 
Live scoring will be provided by golfstat.com.

The Course
 
The course was designed and opened in 1998 by Jim Lipe. It was later redesigned by former LSU All-American and PGA winner David Toms. The redesign took advantage of the natural topography with the wetlands surrounding the course in mind. It plays at 7,700 yards at a par score of 72.
 
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