Cook Finishes at Even Par to Lead UK in Opening Round at Schenkel
STATESBORO, Ga. – Graduate student Jacob Cook carded an even-par 72 to lead the way for the Kentucky men’s golf team during the opening round of the Schenkel Invitational at Forest Heights Country Club on Friday. The Wildcats are off to a slow start and finished the day in 13th place.
Kentucky (+13) entered the event having placed in the top five in each of its last five appearances in the tournament. UK will enter Saturday’s second round 10 shots back off that target. No. 21 NC State is the clubhouse leader at 16-under par, with host Georgia Southern three shots off the Wolfpack’s pace. Furman is 6-under for third.
Cook was the lone starter to finish at even or better. He’s tied for 25th after the opening 18 holes and his team-leading seventh par-or-better round of the season. The Frankfort, Kentucky, native totaled a par score through his opening six holes before getting a birdie at the par-five seventh. He made the turn under par but suffered a bogey at the 10th. He gained the stroke back with a birdie at the par-four 14th. A bogey at the 17th resulted in his even-par scorecard.
Sophomore Cooper Parks produced a 1-over 73 and is tied for 33rd. He offset three bogeys with birdies at the 12th and on his final hole of the day, the par-five 18th.
Sophomore Alex Goff and graduate student Reid Bedell both shot 78s and are tied for 72nd overall. Junior Zach Norris had an 83 and is in 79th.
Senior Allen Hamilton shined for the individuals with a 2-under par 70 and is tied for 13th. The Louisville, Kentucky, native logged birdies on three of his opening four holes to get his day off to a hot start.
Freshmen Campbell Kremer shot a (79) and is in 75th, while Hugo Archer is tied for 76th following a round of 80.
Teams resume play beginning at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday for the second of three rounds. Live scoring is available via golfstat.com. Army dropped out of the tournament prior to the start of today’s round, so this week’s field only consists of 13 teams.
Forest Heights is recognized as one of the finest in the Southeast. The course measures out to 6,962 yards from the championship tees. Although the tee shots are relatively forgiving, the players face their biggest challenges when they reach the undulating greens. The greens feature subtle breaks that make it difficult to read and making scoring low a tough task.
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