After nearly a month off from action, the Kentucky men’s golf team is eager to return to the course on Sunday. The squad is set to take on a three-day, 54-hole event featuring 13 teams at the Franklin American Mortgage Intercollegiate at The Grove.
Kentucky appeared in the Cardinal Challenge in Louisville, Kentucky, in early September, but its next event in Cincinnati, Ohio, was canceled due to inclement weather.
This week the Wildcats will take a lineup featuring four seniors and a junior to an event they won in 2015.
“The Grove is a fabulous golf course and a tremendous test of golf,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “Middle Tennessee State runs a first-class event and we are privileged to play in it. After the rainout at our last event, we are chomping at the bit to compete again. We also have Lukas Euler back in the lineup from his European Tour event start and I am quite thankful for that.”
The Grove will play at a par of 72 over 7,368 yards. It’s a 54-hole event with 18 strokes being played each day Sunday through Tuesday. Live scoring will be available via golfstat.com.
In addition to the Wildcats, the field includes Charleston, Cincinnati, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Memphis, Middle Tennessee State, Ole Miss, Purdue, South Dakota State and South Florida.
Lukas Euler headlines the four seniors who will be joined by junior Matt Liston in the starting lineup.
Euler will make his season debut after missing the first tournament of the year to play in the European Tour. He generated eight top-20 finishes and a season-average score of 72.25 during his junior campaign. Euler was the only member of the squad who appeared in the win in 2015. He tied for 49th in a rain-shortened event.
Classmates Fred Allen Meyer and Fadhli Soetarso led the Wildcats and tied for 27th to lead the way at the Cardinal Challenge. Soetarso’s score of 214 and a final round of 70 were both career bests.
Seniors Max Mehle and Liston will make their second-consecutive starts for the Wildcats. Mehles had a team-high four top-20 finishes during UK’s spring slate a season ago. Liston is making his eighth career start and opened his season with back-to-back 72s at the Cardinal Challenge.
Redshirt freshman Zach Norris will make his UK debut in this week’s event as he plays as an individual. A native of McKee, Kentucky, Norris was an all-state selection at Jackson County High School and carded more than 10 top-10 finishes on the American Junior Golf Association tour.
Junior Allen Hamilton and sophomore Jacob Cook will also be among the field of individual contenders at The Grove this week.
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