Wildcats Battle Way to Runner-Up Finish at Mountaineer Invitational
BRIDGEPORT, W. Va. – Kentucky men’s golf withstood Tuesday’s taxing conditions at Pete Dye Golf Club (par 72, 7308 yards) to finish second at the 2025 Mountaineer Invitational at 24-over par as a team. The result is the best finish for the program since the Wildcats were second at the Steelwood Collegiate in September of 2021.
Of the 18 competing teams, Kentucky finished behind only No. 4 Oklahoma State, placing ahead of several highly touted squads including No. 28 Texas Tech.
“Our guys fought through some adverse conditions, some of the toughest I’ve seen at this level,” head coach Gator Todd said. “You need mental toughness and resilience on days like this and our guys delivered. Each guy did their part. It was really a total team effort.”
Jack Schoenberger and Jacob Lang both collected top 10 finishes to lead UK, while all five Wildcat starters ended the event inside the top 33 of the 100-player field.
Tuesday brought wet and windy weather to West Virginia as players were forced to navigate rain and wind gusting at more than 35 mph. Round two was eventually completed after a brief suspension of play in the morning, before competitors embarked on a grueling third and final round.
Despite the cloudy skies, Schoenberger continued to shine brightly for UK, finishing his week tied for fifth at 4-over par. The result marked Schoenberger’s fourth-consecutive top 10 and second-straight top five, continuing what has been a sensational spring for the junior. The native of Alpharetta, Ga. made two eagles in the tournament, including one in the third round on No. 12 (par 4, 341 yards), and also lead the Cats with nine total birdies. He was tied for second in the field in par-4 scoring average at 4.00.
Lang joined Schoenberger inside the top 10 and posted a new career-high finished by tying for ninth at 6-over par. The native of Alvaton, Ky. was steady with even-par scores in rounds one and two, before closing with a 78 (+6) that was still more than a full stroke below the average round three score. Lang now has four top 20 finishes on his freshman season, including three in five starts this spring. He made 35 pars across the 54-hole tournament, tied for the third most of any player.
Senior captain Jansen Preston also battled his way to a top 20 finish behind an extremely impressive 74 (+2) during a difficult final round. When the dust settled, Preston found himself tied for 19th at 10-over par total, climbing 11 spots up the leaderboard in the third round. The native of Lexington, Ky. now has five top 20s for the season, the second most on the team behind Schoenberger.
Gavin Clutts narrowly missed a top 20 of his own, finishing tied for 21st at 11-over par. Clutts’s week was highlighted by a 1-under par round of 71 in round two which was tied for the best score in the field in the second round.
The Wildcats also received crucial contributions from freshman Jacob Settles who was a counting score in all three rounds on his way to a T-33 finish at 15-over par. Individual competitor Michael Hake ended proceedings tied for 48th at 18-over for the tournament. Hake totaled eight birdies across 54 holes, the second most by Kentucky player in the event.
This week’s performance brings the Wildcats season long win-loss record to 79-58-4, including a 44-22-4 mark on the spring. Having finished tied fourth or better in each of their last three events, the Cats will look to carry the momentum into next week’s SEC Championship, which will run April 23-27 at the Seaside Course at Sea Island in St. Simons Island, Ga.
Leaderboard
T5: Jack Schoenberger (66-79-75)
T9: Jacob Lang (72-72-78)
T19: Jansen Preston (77-75-74)
T21: Gavin Clutts (74-71-82)
T33: Jacob Settles (75–79–77)
T48: Michael Hake* (77-79-78)
Bold = Counting score
*Individual
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