Alex Goff Charges into Top 15 on Day Two at Hootie

AWENDAW, S.C. – Led by a 3-under par 69 from Alex Goff, Kentucky men’s golf improved upon its first-round score by 10 strokes during round two at the Hootie at Bulls Bay on Monday at Bulls Bay Golf Club (par 72, 7266 yards).

The Cats finished the second round with a score of 290 (+2), moving them into a tie for 12th place in the 15-team field at 14-over par. The Monday effort was 10 shots lower than the team’s first round score of 300.

Goff, who began the day at 2-over par, climbed into a tie for 15th individually, going bogey-free for what was his fourth round in the 60s this spring. Starting on Bulls Bay’s back nine, the Kings Mountain, N.C. native made birdie on No. 10 (par 5, 613 yards), No. 15 (par 4, 460 yards) and No. 18 (par 4, 454 yards), before making nine pars on his homeward half.

Along with Goff, redshirt freshman Oakley Gee also posted an under-par round, birdieing three of his final seven holes to post a 1-under par 71. It was the third round in red figures for Gee this season and his fourth at par-or-better. The Illinois native sits in a tie for 66th at 7-over par for the tournament.

Both Jansen Preston and Campbell Kremer replicated their first-round efforts, each carding 3-over rounds of 75 for the second consecutive day. The UK duo is tied for 59th in the 81-player field at 6-over par.

Freshman Michael Hake improved his opening round output by one shot, making two birdies in route to Kentucky’s third round of 75 on the day. Hake birdied a pair of par 5s, making fours on both No. 13 (par 5, 602 yards) and No. 4 (par 5, 540 yards). The Wildcats’ fifth starter was even through his first 14 holes, but stumbled with three bogeys over his final four.

The Cats lead in the field in pars thus far this week with 126 as a team. New Mexico leads the event through 36 holes at 16-under. The Lobos’ Matthew Watkins is the low individual at 7-under par.

The Hootie at Bulls Bay will conclude with the third and final round on Tuesday. The Wildcats are scheduled to go off hole No. 10 beginning at 8:45 a.m. playing alongside NC State and Kent State. Live scoring can be found at Golfstat.com.

Kentucky Results: 

T15: Alex Goff (74-69)
T59: Jansen Preston (75-75)
T59: Campbell Kremer (75-75)
T66: Oakley Gee (80-71)
T66: Michael Hake (76-75)
Bold = Counting score

For the latest on UK Men’s Golf follow the Wildcats on X and Instagram @UKmensgolf, and online at ukathletics.com.