Men's Golf
February 17, 2024 - 03:36 PM

Alex Goff Cards 68, Kentucky Ties for Eighth at Gators Invitational

by Greg Welsh

Results

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A 2-under par 68 from graduate Alex Goff, along with a second-straight red figure performance by Jansen Preston highlighted Kentucky’s final round at the Gators Invitational on Saturday at the Mark Bostick Golf Course (par 70, 6701 yards). The Wildcats concluded play in a tie for eighth place in the 16-team field, finishing with a 54-hole team total of 855 (+15).

After rounds of 71 and 70 on day one, Goff dipped below par on Saturday, utilizing six birdies, including four-straight on his back nine, to fire Kentucky’s third 68 of the week. The Kings Mountain, North Carolina native was once again the top individual finisher for the Wildcats, placing T13 at 1-under par overall, his fifth-straight tournament below par.

Preston, who registered his best round as a Wildcat with a 68 on Friday, continued his good form in round three. The junior transfer made four birdies and closed with a 33 over his final nine holes for a 1-under round of 69. He would finish T21, the best individual finish of his collegiate career.

Redshirt freshman Oakley Gee (75) and senior Campbell Kremer (76) were the other counting scores for Kentucky on Saturday. Gee, who fired a career-best 68 in round two, ended the event tied for 40th, while Kremer was tied for 65th. Freshman Michael Hake carded a final round 77 to finish tied for 75th in his first spring start.

Playing as an individual, Andrew Clark finished his tournament in a tie for 65th, carding an 8-over par total of 78 in round three.

“This was a great experience for our guys this week,” head coach Gator Todd said. “The course required discipline, patience and made you think. Alex did a great job of staying patient and hanging in there. Finishing top 15 on an off week says a lot about what kind of player he is. Jansen is getting better and better every week, he really stepped up for us the final two rounds. Oakley is also taking some great steps and getting more comfortable. We’re looking forward to having three weeks at home to work on certain areas and figure out our lineup before the Schenkel.”

Tournament host Florida won the event at 26-under par for the weekend, while North Florida’s Nick Gabrelcik claimed the individual title at 13-under par.

The Wildcats finished the tournament with a total of 35 birdies and two eagles. Goff was one of 11 players in the field to finish with a par-4 scoring average below par (3.97), while Kremer was ninth in the field in par-5 scoring at 5-under par for the weekend. Goff paced UK with a total of 13 birdies in the tournament, tied for the sixth most in the 84-player field.

UK will resume its spring season at the Schenkel Invitational, March 15-17 at Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Georgia.

Kentucky Results:
T13: Alex Goff (71-70-68)
T21: Jansen Preston (74-68-69)
T40: Oakley Gee (73-68-75)
T65: Campbell Kremer (75-71-76)
T75: Michael Hake (72-77-77)
T65: Andrew Clark (72-72-78)*
*Individual
Bold = Counting score