Wildcats Earn Ninth Place at Mason Rudolph Championship
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Jansen Preston secured his first collegiate top-20 finish as the Kentucky men’s golf team took ninth place at the Mason Rudolph Championship at Vanderbilt Legends – South Course (par 71, 7,112 yards), closing with a 9-over par score of 293 on Sunday.
“I’m proud of the fight out guys showed this week,” head coach Gator Todd said. “We got off to a rough start and they battled. Proud of Jansen for having his best career finish. He has taken some great steps thing spring. We’re looking forward to having a couple of weeks back home to prepare for the SEC Championship.”
Playing at his former home course, Preston, a junior transfer from Vanderbilt, ended his homecoming with a 2-over par Sunday fueled by four birdies. The Lexington native ended the weekend tied for 19th place overall, improving upon his previous best collegiate placing of T-21 earlier this spring. He was 4-under on par 5s for the Championship, including 3-under during the final round. Preston’s solid spring has included four top-30 finishes in five events.
Oakley Gee had the low round for the Wildcats for the second time this weekend, firing a Sunday 1-over par 72 which was aided by a 2-under back nine. Gee birdied all three par 5s on the closing nine, carding fours on No. 14 (par 5, 517 yards), No. 17 (par 5, 567 yards) and No. 18 (par 5, 522 yards). The redshirt freshman climbed 10 spots on the final day to finish T-46 at 9-over for the tournament.
Alex Goff continued his perfect scoring percentage this season, tallying a counting score in all three rounds again this weekend on his way to a T-40 finish at 7-over par. Goff made four birdies in round three, his most in a single round for the tournament, picking up shots on No. 8 (par 4, 427 yards), No. 11 (par 3, 166 yards), No. 14 (par 5, 51 yards) and No. 18 (par 5, 522 yards). The grad-student was 1-over on each of his nines on his way to a third round 73 (+2). Goff has been a counting score for the Wildcats in all 25 rounds played this season.
Senior Campbell Kremer closed with a flurry to post a final round 75 (+4), tying him for 51st in the field for the weekend at 10-over par. Kremer was 7-over on his round through 16 holes, but finished eagle-birdie on No. 17 (par 5, 567 yards) and No. 18 (par 5, 522 yards) to secure a counting score for the team. Kremer’s eagle three on No. 17 was the only eagle of the tournament for the Wildcats.
Rounding out the starting lineup, freshman Michael Hake placed T-65 after closing the event with a final round 76 (+5) which featured birdies on No. 9 (par 3, 221 yards), No. 14 (par 5, 517 yards) and No. 16 (par 3, 222 yards). Hake led the team with 10 birdies in the tournament, tied for the 19th most in the field. He ended the event at 17-over par, overall.
Individual participant Kevin Watts closed with a round of 80 (+9) on Sunday. He was 25-over par for the week and placed 73rd.
Vanderbilt blew away the field to win their home tournament by 18 shots, finishing at 30-under par. The Commodores’ Gordan Sargent went wire-to-wire to win medalist honors at 11-under for the week.
UK will next look to the 2024 SEC Championships, to be held at Sea Island Golf Club April 24-28.
Kentucky Results:
T19: Jansen Preston (74-68-73-215)
T40: Alex Goff (76-71-73-220)
T46: Oakley Gee (72-78-72-223)
T51: Campbell Kremer (74-74-75-222)
T65: Michael Hake (80-74-76-230)
73: Kevin Watts (85-73-80-238)*
Bold = Counting score
*Individual
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