Men’s Golf Opens Spring Season at Watersound Invitational
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. – More than three months removed from its fall finale, Kentucky men’s golf begins its spring season this Monday through Wednesday as the Wildcats join a stacked field for the Watersound Invitational at Shark’s Tooth Golf Course (par 72, 7246 yards).
The 54-hole tournament is hosted by Florida State and features 12 teams. Six schools in the field are ranked inside the Scoreboard Powered by Clippd Top 25, while eight own a spot in the top 50. UK is one of four teams from the Southeastern Conference teeing it up alongside Alabama, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt.
Junior Jack Schoenberger will head the Kentucky lineup, coming off a fall season in which he led the team with a 73.20 scoring average. Schoenberger and Jansen Preston, who will play number two for the Cats this week, each posted three top 20 finishes in five fall starts.
Sophomore Michael Hake will occupy the third spot in the lineup this week. The Brentwood, Tennessee native had the best individual finish for Kentucky of the fall when he tied for third at the inaugural Cullan Brown Collegiate. Hake is followed by a pair of freshmen in Jacob Lang and Jacob Settles, who will be making the fourth and third starts of their collegiate careers, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Oakley Gee will also compete this week, playing as an individual.
Kentucky will be grouped with Clemson and Michigan State for the opening round starting on hole No. 10 from 9:10 to 9:50 a.m. Round two will take place on Tuesday before Wednesday’s final round begins at 7:30 a.m. Fans can follow along with live scoring on Golfstat.com.
Temperatures for the week will range from the low to mid 60s. Sunshine is expected for Monday and Tuesday before a chance of rain on Wednesday.
In five fall tournaments, Kentucky registered a team scoring average of 292.4 strokes per round. The team’s best result came in Lexington as UK took third at the Cullan Brown Collegiate.
The Watersound Invitational is the first of six events on the schedule for Kentucky this spring, capped by the SEC Championship, April 23-27 in St. Simons, Georgia.
Kentucky Lineup:
- Jack Schoenberger: Junior, Alpharetta, Ga.
- Jansen Preston: Senior, Lexington, Ky.
- Michael Hake: Sophomore, Brentwood, Tenn.
- Jacob Lang: Freshman, Alvaton, Ky.
- Jacob Settles: Freshman, Winchester, Ky.
- Oakley Gee: RS Sophomore, Carmi, Ill. (individual)
Competing Schools (12): Alabama, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Navy, NC State, Notre Dame, UCLA, Vanderbilt
For the latest on UK Men’s Golf follow the Wildcats on X and Instagram @UKmensgolf, and online at ukathletics.com.
