Despite every team in the field playing over par on day two of the Puerto Rico Classic, senior Kentucky men’s golfer Cooper Musselman may have turned in one of the most impressive performances of his collegiate career.
The Louisville, Kentucky, native fired a 4-under-par 67 to move into the top 20 of the individual leaderboard. His 4-under par score was the lowest individual mark in the entire 75-player field. With today’s score, he moved into a tie for 16th overall, ascending 42 spots on the leaderboard, to take the clubhouse lead among UK’s starting five. In addition to tallying the lowest round on the course, his movement up the leaderboard was the biggest gain of the day.
Kentucky remains in 14th, but is a mere five strokes off of a top-10 finish in a loaded field. All but one team rests inside of the top 100 of the GolfStat collegiate rankings.
Georgia Tech is the leader through two rounds. Purdue is second, with Oklahoma, Clemson and NC State tied for third.
Kentucky will close out its opening week of action with a final 18 holes on the Rio Mar Country Club’s Ocean Course on Tuesday beginning at 8 a.m. ET.
Player Roundup
Musselman was simply sensational during round of play. He opened the day off of the par-four 18th. He then birdied three of his next five holes to get to red numbers quickly. He earned a birdies on the par-four first, the par-five third and the par-five fifth. Over the next 11 holes he would neither gain or lose a shot, playing flawlessly. A three on the par-four 17th capped his round in stylish fashion with the 4-under final score. For the week, Musselman has played the par-five’s at 3-under par. He is seeking his fourth top-20 finish of the 2017-18 season entering his final round in a tie for 16th.
Junior Lukas Euler, yesterday’s top performer, fired a 1-over par 72 on his second day of play. Euler combated two bogeys and a double with three birdies over his final nine holes. Through two rounds, Euler is tied for 21st at 2-over par. He is in the hunt for his fifth-consecutive top-20 finish to open the season.
Sophomore Matt Liston and senior Evan Cox both fired rounds of 78 on Tuesday. Liston is tied for 52nd, while Cox is tied for 68th. Senior Chip McDaniel is tied for 66th after a 10-over round on day two.
The Tournament Setup
Teams: Alabama, Clemson, East Carolina, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Marquette, Maryland, Middle Tennessee State, NC State, Northwestern, Oklahoma, Purdue, UNC Greensboro, Virginia Tech
Course Details: Set on the picturesque Caribbean coast, the Puerto Rico Classic will be played at Rio Mar Beach and Spa Resort’s Ocean Course in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico. Although the tournament began in 1999, this will be the third year that Kentucky will be competing.
Format: Par 71, 6,716 yards – Play five and count four scores
Schedule of Play: 54 total holes; 18 holes each day
Tuesday, Feb. 20 – Round 3
Live Look: Live stats are available via golfstat.com.
Forecast: Tuesday (partly cloudy and windy, high of 81)
History at the Puerto Rico Classic
Years Participated: 2016, 2017
Best Finish: 4th – 2016
Returning Player Finishes From 2016: Cooper Musselman (T11th), Chip McDaniel (T11th)
Returning Player Finishes From 2017: Cooper Musselman (T5th), Chip McDaniel (T20th), Lukas Euler (T45th)
Noteworthy: Cooper Musselman shot under par in all three rounds in his top-five finish a season ago. Chip McDaniel led off the weekend with a 3-under, 69, last year.
Agate
Kentucky
T16 – Cooper Musselman (76, 67 – 143; +1)
T21 – Lukas Euler (72, 72 – 144; +2)
T52 – Matt Liston (73, 78 – 151; +9)
T66 – Chip McDaniel (74, 81 – 155; +13)
T68 – Evan Cox (78, 78 – 156; +14)
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s golf team, follow @UKMensGolf on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.
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For more information contact:
Deb Moore