LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky men’s golf team tees it up starting Monday at the Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate at Reflection Bay Golf Club in Henderson, Nevada. The 15-team tournament, hosted by the University of Louisiana, will include 18 holes Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
The UK lineup will consist of Alex Goff, Garrett Wood, Campbell Kremer, Kevin Watts and Dhaivat Pandya with Andrew Clark, Jackson LaLonde, Cooper Parks and Tanner Parks competing as individuals.
“We have had excellent preparation leading into this event at Reflection Bay and the guys are in good form,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “Our goal for this tournament is to simply control what we can control, including our mindsets, routines and course management. If we do that, the good golf will follow.”
The tournament marks the second of five team events prior to the SEC Championship at the Seaside Course in St. Simons Island, Georgia, in mid-April.
NOTEWORTHY
Tournament History: The Cats finished sixth in their only other appearance at the Lake Las Vegas Intercollegiate a season ago. Returnees Garrett Wood, Alex Goff and Campbell Kremer all participated with Wood leading the way in a tie for sixth place at 7-under-par.
The Course: Reflection Bay Golf Club is a Jack Nicklaus design crafted along the northern shore of Lake Las Vegas with five holes stretching along shoreline. A par-72 layout, Reflection Bay will play at 7,204 yards.
The Field: Along with the Wildcats and host Louisiana, the tournament features Arkansas State, Central Arkansas, Kansas City, Little Rock, Long Beach State, Michigan, Middle Tennessee State, New Mexico State, Rocky Mountain College, South Florida, Stetson, UAB and Winthrop.
Last Time Out: The Cats finished the Battle at Briar’s Creek in fourth place out of 11 teams. Alex Goff paced Kentucky in sole possession of second place at 5-under, marking his fourth top 20 finish in five tournaments this season.
The Numbers So Far: Through the four-tournament fall schedule and the opener of the spring, Goff paces the Wildcats with a 71.87 scoring average and four top 20 finishes. Wood follows with a 72.60 scoring average with junior Campbell Kremer right behind at 73.53. Wood has a pair of top 10 finishes, including a second-place standing at the Hamptons Intercollegiate. Fellow graduate student Dhaivat Pandya has a pair of top 20 finishes while junior Campbell Kremer has notched one.
Goff leads the Wildcats with nine rounds of par-or-better, including eight under par, while Wood has notched six rounds of par-or-better, Kremer has tallied five and Pandya and freshman Andrew Clark have carded four. All 15 of Wood’s rounds have counted toward the team tally while Kremer’s career-low 4-under-par 66 in the final round at SEC Match Play marked the best by a Wildcats in the 2022-23 campaign.
Cats Return Seven: The Wildcats return seven players from the 2021-22 roster. Combined, the returners earned four top-10 finishes, 11 top-20 finishes and three of UK’s five starters from its Southeastern Championship and NCAA Regional squad will return.
Wood, Goff, Kremer Highlight Returners: Wood, UK’s leader in stroke average a year ago, highlights the returning core. He charted a 71.55 average and amassed five top-20 finishes. Goff posted a 71.97 average with four top-20 finishes, while Kremer had a pair of top-20 finishes and totaled a 72.89 stroke average.
Career Par-or-Better Rounds (in 2022-23):
Garrett Wood – 45 (6)
Alex Goff – 43 (9)
Dhaivat Pandya – 24 (4)
Campbell Kremer – 18 (4)
Cooper Parks – 9 (1)
Andrew Clark – 4 (4)
Jackson LaLonde – 4 (2)
Kevin Watts – 2 (2)
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