Men’s Golf to Compete in Four Fall Events in 2021

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s golf team will compete in four fall events to jumpstart its 2021-22 season.
 
“We have been ready to start this new season ever since last spring ended,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “The fall schedule we have put together has a couple of new events on it and it is a fabulous schedule on championship golf courses.
 
“The highlight is our inaugural SEC Match Play Championship at the venerable Shoal Creek golf course in Birmingham, Alabama,” Craig said. “What an elite match event that will be with all 14 SEC teams committed to play. Overall, the guys have had a solid summer of golf but now is the time to step it up a notch and compete in a manner that puts a smile on the face of the Big Blue Nation.”
 
In addition to the SEC Match Play Championship, Kentucky will return to two tournaments from its 2019-20 fall slate in the Island Resort Intercollegiate and the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational. The Wildcats will also add a date at the Old Town Club Collegiate Invitational marking another first-time event.
 
The spring portion of the schedule will be released at a later date. Postseason action begins at the SEC Championship in April. The NCAA Regional events are set for May 16-18, 2022 with play beginning at the NCAA Championship on May 27.
 
The Wildcats return 10 players from the 2020-21 roster. Combined the returners earned three top-10 finishes, six top-20 finishes and three of UK’s five starters from its SEC Championship squad will return.
 
Alex Goff highlighted the season with an individual win at The Blessings Collegiate Invitational and led the squad with a 72.21 stroke average. Jacob Cook started in all nine events for the Wildcats and secured a career-low average (73.26), career-low tournament score (212) and a career-low round (68) in his breakout season. Zach Norris earned his first-career top-10 finish at the Kiawah Invitational and has appeared in 17 career events.
 
Details regarding each course and event are below:
 
Island Resort Collegiate Invitational | Sage Run (Island Resort) | Sept. 5-6
 
Sage Run is a course in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Paul Albanese, ASGCA of Albanese and Lutzke Golf Couse Design, designed it. Sage Run features a large drumlin, which is a long, sloping ridge. It runs throughout the course in different directions, challenging players to interact and move along the course with it. Each hole has a unique character and feel. The course takes golfers through pine scrub, open and partially wooded areas.
 
The event will consist of a two-day, 54-hole stroke-play invitational competing at the 7,309-yard course hosted by South Dakota State. Goff, Norris, Cook and Cooper Parks all appeared in the event in 2019. Goff tied for 10th and Parks earned his first-career top-20 finish with a tie for 18th.
 
Old Town Club Collegiate Invitational | Old Town Club | Sept. 27-28
 
Kentucky will travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to compete in the Old Town Club Collegiate Invitational hosted by Wake Forest. It will mark the first such appearance in the event for Craig’s squad.
 
Old Town Club was designed in 1939. It features 6,661 yards from the longest tees and a par of 71. The course rating is 72.0 and has a slope rating of 123 on Bermuda grass. It was designed by Perry Maxwell.
 
SEC Match Play Championship | Shoal Creek Golf and Country Club | Oct. 10-12
 
All 14 SEC teams will travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to partake in a three-day tournament combining stroke play and match play.
Designed by the legendary Jack Nicklaus in 1975, Shoal Creek – at 7,400 yards, par 72 – recently hosted the 2018 U.S. Women’s Open in addition to the 1984 and 1990 PGA Championships. It is rated as one of the top courses in the state and is considered one of the country’s best.
 
Steelwood Collegiate Invitational| Steelwood Country Club | Oct. 30-31
 
The course, designed by former U.S. Open Champion Jerry Pate, is rated by GolfDigest as one of the best courses in Alabama. The vistas are spectacular, especially the six holes bordering the lake. The course opened in 1997 and features 7,096 yards. The course rating is 74.0 and it has a slope rating of 144 on Bermuda grass.
 
Kentucky will appear in the event for the fourth time since 2016. UK placed fourth in 2017 and was the tournament’s runner up in 2016. Garrett Wood tied for ninth in 2019 to lead the Wildcats. Goff tied for 19th and Parks was also in the starting lineup. Jay Kirchdorfer, competing as an individual, earned a tie for 19th for his first-collegiate top-20 finish.
 
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