Two Wildcats Earn Top-10 Finishes at Lake Las Vegas
HENDERSON, Nev. – Kentucky men’s golfers Jacob Cook and Garrett Wood earned top-10 finishes at the Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate to highlight the week for the UK men’s golf team. The Wildcats concluded the event in sixth place overall.
Wood paced the play of the Wildcats with a tie for sixth and a combined 7-under-par scorecard. He shot rounds of 70-68-71 to get under par during each round and finish among the top-10 players in the field for the second time this season. It is the third straight tournament that Wood has finished under par.
Cook tied for eighth overall with a 6-under score. He has now generated a top-10 finish in a team-leading three events this season. The Frankfort, Kentucky, native was steady all week with a trio of 2-under-par 70s.
“This was quite a disappointing week for our team. We had two practice rounds and were in good form heading into this event,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “Unfortunately, we just did not execute as well as we would have liked. The good news is there were plenty of signs of what this team is capable of and we have the historic Pinehurst No. 2 up next week. This event will be great prep for Pinehurst with similar grasses on the green side shots and challenges.”
West Virginia captured the victory at the Reflection Bay Golf Club with a combined 28-under scorecard. Little Rock finished second at 17-under and UAB and Oregon State rounded out the top three with a 13-under mark.
Cook had the best round of the day for the Wildcats with a 2-under. He had a bogey to open the round, but immediately combated it with a birdie at the second. After the turn, he moved to under par with a birdie at the 10th. The highlight of his round came at the par-five 12th when he generated an eagle to move to 3-under. Another birdie at the 14th pushed his score to 4-under par, but bogeys on the 15th and 16th dropped Cook back two strokes. He finished his round with consecutive pars for the fourth top-10 finish of his career.
Wood matched Cook with an even-par front nine. After earning a birdie at the par-five sixth to get back to even par, Wood generated pars on each of the next 11 holes before inducing some magic with a birdie on the 18th to get under par for the day. The Mason, Ohio, native boasted under-par scores in each of the three rounds and has a team-leading 10 on the season.
Campbell Kremer finished in a tie for 25th and was even-par for the event. He charted a round of 72 on the third day of action. Back-to-back birdies at the 10th and 11th highlighted his round on Wednesday.
Alex Goff fired a 1-over 73 and tied for 45th overall, while Jay Kirchdorfer produced his best round of the week with a 75 on the final day and concluded the tournament in 79th.
Playing as an individual, Zach Norris tied for 54th with a 1-over 73 on the final day of action.
The Wildcats waste little time before returning to action with a two-day event March 7-8. UK is in the field at the Wake Forest Invite at Pinehurst No. 2, the most famous course at the Pinehurst Resort.
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AGATE
6 – Kentucky (288, 284, 286 – 858, -6)
T6 – Garrett Wood (70, 68, 71 –209, -7)
T8 – Jacob Cook (70, 70, 70 – 210, -6)
T25 – Campbell Kremer (74, 70, 72 – 216, E)
T45 – Alex Goff (74, 76, 73 – 223, +7)
79 – Jay Kirchdorfer (83, 76, 75 – 234, +18)
Individual
T54 – Zach Norris (74, 78, 73 – 225, +9)
