Cooper Parks is Third Wildcat to Qualify for U.S. Amateur
BOWLING GREEN, Ky.– Kentucky men’s golfer Cooper Parks has joined teammates Jacob Cook and Garrett Wood in qualifying for the U.S. Amateur by earning the third spot from the Bowling Green Country Club qualifier via a playoff on Tuesday. With his twin brother Tanner serving as his caddie, Parks earned a par on the second playoff hole to earn the final slot from Tuesday’s qualifier.
Parks and Cook both earned selection by besting an opponent on a playoff hole, while Wood won the TPC River Bend’s qualifier on July 12. Cook won on the opening playoff hole at the Camargo Club on July 13.
“I’m really pumped to have qualified,” Parks said. “This has always been a goal of mine to play in the US Am and to see all the hard work pay off is really cool. It means even more to have had Tanner on the bag for me. We’ve always pushed each other and played almost everyday together, so him being there too was really awesome.”
UK’s trio will appear in the national event Aug. 9-15 at the Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania.
“Also, having a couple of teammates there with Cookie and Garrett makes it that much more special,” Parks said. “I can’t wait to compete against the best at Oakmont.”
Parks combined to shoot 5-under for the tournament with rounds of 70 and 69. He made a par on the par-four ninth in the second sunder-death playoff hole to advance to his first U.S. Amateur appearance.
The Campbellsville, Kentucky, native opened the one-day 36-hole event with a 2-under 70 in the opening round. He bookended a bogey at the sixth with birdies at the fifth and seventh to make the turn under par. A bogey at the 10th was offset with birdies at the 11th and 15th holes. He capped the round in good position but needed another quality round to have a chance.
Parks enjoyed a flawless second round with no blemishes on the scorecard. For the second straight round he birdied the par-three seventh to get to 1-under on the front nine. With the pressure mounting to get into a playoff, Parks birdied the par-four 16th and the par-five 18th to get to 5-under for the tournament and 3-under for the round forcing extra play.
Parks has appeared in 13 collegiate events through two seasons with the Wildcats. He owns a career average of 75.08. Parks has notched eight par-or-better rounds thus far, including a career-low 68 during his sophomore campaign. He also notched a career-low tournament scorecard as a sophomore with a 1-under 215 at the Kiawah Invitational to begin spring action last season. He is also a two-time Academic All-Southeastern Conference Team member.
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