Schenkel Invitational Starts Friday for Men’s Golf
STATESBORO, Ga. – Kentucky men’s golf resumes its spring season at the Schenkel Invitational, hosted by Georgia Southern at Forest Heights Country Club (par 72, 7,123 yards) this Friday through Sunday.
The 54-hole event will feature 18 holes each day, with golfers off nos. 1 and 10 beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and at 8:30 a.m. for Sunday’s final round. Live scoring will be available through Golfstat.
A total of 14 teams are set to partake in the 44th edition of the event, which officially began in 1971. 2024 will mark the Wildcats’ 24th time in the field. UK finished fifth in 2023 with a 1-over par team total, while Alex Goff was T-3rd as an individual at 6-under.
“We are excited to get back to competition this week in Statesboro,” head coach Gator Todd said. “This has been a regular on the schedule for several years. I love how unique this tournament is with how the town gets behind it. We’ve had three good weeks of work at home and I’m excited to see this group compete.”
Goff, Jansen Preston, Oakley Gee and Campbell Kremer will all get the start for the third-consecutive event this spring, while sophomore Kevin Watts joins the lineup for his first tournament of the semester. Fifth-year Jackson LaLonde will also make the trip to tee it up as an individual.
Goff leads the Cats with a 70.2 stroke average this spring, finishing at par-or-better in four of his five rounds. Dating back to the 2022-23 season, Goff has finished inside the top-15 in eight straight events, most recently placing T-13 at the Gators Invitational three weeks ago.
Preston looks to build on what was a career-best collegiate finish in Gainesville, where the junior transfer finished T-21 after carding scores of 68-69 in the final two rounds. Gee, a redshirt freshman, also showed some form Kentucky’s last time on the course with a career-low score of 68 in round two of the Gators Invitational.
This weekend’s field includes some fierce competition including four schools from the Southeastern Conference. No. 17 Florida, the defending NCAA National Champion, is the highest ranked team in the field, while Mississippi State (No. 25) also resides inside the top-25.
Kentucky Lineup:
- Alex Goff: Graduate Student, Kings Mountain, N.C.
- Jansen Preston: Junior, Lexington, Ky.
- Oakley Gee: Redshirt Freshman, Carmi, Ill.
- Campbell Kremer: Senior, Louisville, Ky.
- Kevin Watts: Sophomore, Colleyville, Texas
- Jackson LaLonde: Fifth-year, Lexington, Ky.*
*Individual
Competing Schools (14): Army, Campbell, Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia Southern, Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Mississippi State, NC State, Notre Dame, South Carolina, UAB, West Virginia, Wisconsin
For the latest on UK Men’s Golf follow the Wildcats on X and Instagram @UKmensgolf, and online at ukathletics.com.
