Garrett Wood’s Under-Par Score Highlights Opening Round for UK
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Kentucky men’s golf team was paced by an under-par scorecard from Garrett Wood during the opening round of action at the NCAA Columbus Regional on Monday. Wood finished the day at 1-under par and is tied for fifth on the individual leaderboard. Kentucky is in ninth and just four shots back of a coveted top-five finish with 36 holes to play.
No. 2 Oklahoma State was the only team to conclude the round at under par with a 4-under score. East Tennessee State is in second at 2-over with San Francisco in third place at 4-over and Clemson at 5-over in fourth. Ohio State, Duke and No. 11 Georgia Tech are tied for fifth following a 6-over scorecard. UK is in ninth after concluding the opening round with a 10-over.
Teams will resume action on Tuesday for the second round of the three-day, 54-hole tournament. Following the three days of stroke play, five teams will move on as a part of the NCAA Championship field of 30. Live stats are available via golfstat.com.
Kentucky will return to the course alongside Georgia Tech and Arkansas beginning at 8:25 a.m. ET. The Cats will tee off from the No. 1 hole.
Wood opened his second NCAA Tournament appearance with a bogey on the par-four 10th as the Cats began the day on the back nine. He rebounded quickly with his first birdie of the day at the par-five 12th. The Mason, Ohio native then moved to under-par for the round with a birdie at the par-four 16th. Wood yielded a shot back at the first before combating it with his third birdie of the round at the par-four second. He then finished the day with seven straight pars to maintain his under-par scorecard and finish the day among the top five on the individual leaderboard. Wood’s round of 70 was his 17th par-or-better round of the season.
Alex Goff joined Wood as the only two Wildcats with postseason experience to begin the tournament and concluded the day in a tie for 14th behind a 1-over 72. Like Wood, Goff got off to a tough start with a bogey on his second hole. He answered with a birdie on the par-five 12th and made the turn at even par. Goff faced some adversity midway through the front nine with three straight bogeys at the third, fourth and fifth. But he answered in a profound way with birdies on two of his final three holes – the par-four seventh and the par-four ninth.
Jay Kirchdorfer playing in the fifth starter’s spot, capped the day in a tie for 35th and picked up some major momentum at the end of his round. Kirchdorfer shot a 3-over 73 but played even par over his final nine holes. He charted bogeys on three of his first five holes, but then earned par on his next five. Bogeys at the second and fifth pushed his score to 5-over with four holes to play. Kirchdorfer answered with birdies at the seventh and ninth to pick up two valuable shots for the Wildcats heading into day two.
Jacob Cook fired a round of 78, while Campbell Kremer shot 80 during the opening 18 and are tied for 69th and 72nd, respectively.
The NCAA Regional field is comprised of 81 teams and 45 individuals and will compete in six regional sites, May 16-18 (13 teams and 10 individuals at three regionals and 14 teams and five individuals at three regionals). Thirty teams and six individuals will advance from regional sites to the National Championship to be played May 27-June 1 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The six regional sites include Jimmie Austin Golf Club in Norman, Oklahoma, hosted by Oklahoma, Traditions Club in Bryan, Texas, hosted by Texas A&M, Ohio State Golf Club (Scarlet) in Columbus, Ohio, hosted by Ohio State, The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton, California, hosted by Pacific and Visit Stockton, Yale Golf Club in New Haven Connecticut, hosted by Yale, and the PGA National (Champions) in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, hosted by Florida Atlantic and the Palm Beach County Sports Commission.
The Ohio State Golf Club’s Scarlett course opened in 1938. It was designed by Dr. Alister MacKenzie, a world-renowned golf course architect, and the course is considered one of the best collegiate courses in the nation.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s golf team, follow @UKMensGolf on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.
