The Kentucky men’s golf team will conclude its fall schedule at the tradition-rich Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate beginning Sunday. The three-day, 54-hole event features a field comprised of all 14 Southeastern Conference squads.
“We have had quality preparation since our last event,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “The guys are in good form and good spirits. We are ready to go. This is another opportunity to compete in the best golf conference in college golf. If you cannot get excited about that, then you are not a competitor. The good news is we have a team full of competitors.”
Kentucky begins action at 1:20 p.m. ET off holes 12-15 Sunday.
With the SEC developing guidelines for competition for the fall schedule, all three of UK’s fall tournaments have featured an all-SEC field. Sophomore Alex Goff has led the way for the Wildcats with a pair of top-three individual finishes. Goff won the team’s opening event at the Blessings Collegiate and tied for third at the Legends Collegiate. UK was eighth in the opening event and finished 14th in Franklin, Tennessee, in late October.
The Lineup
Goff will make his ninth career start and third straight in the No. 1 position for the Wildcats. The Kings Mountain, North Carolina, has been sensational to open the 2020-21 season. He is the only SEC player to garner a top-three finish in both events thus far this season. He captured the individual championship at Blessings and followed that with career-best marks at the Legends Collegiate. Goff turned in a combined 201 scorecard to match Chip McDaniel for the second-lowest tournament score in the Craig era. His second round 64 tied Cullan Brown and Jordan Blann for the lowest under Craig. The marks are also career bests. He is averaging 68.50 strokes for the season and has played five of six rounds in the 60s. In 21 of his 22 career rounds as a starter, they have counted towards the team’s score.
Graduate student Jacob Cook returns to the lineup for the third straight time. Cook tied for 23rd at The Blessings and placed in a tie for 62nd at the Legends. His 217 scorecard at the Legends marked the second-lowest tournament score of his career. He also carded a career-low round of 69 during the second round of the team’s opening tournament this season. Cook has appeared in 15 career events and this week’s event will mark his sixth career start. He entered his season having the most productive summer of his career with two individual tournament wins and two tournaments in which he finished as the low amateur.
Senior Allen Hamilton is slated to make his third start of the season and the 12th of his career. He tied for 37th overall at The Blessings and tied for 53rd at the Legends. His 215 score at the Legends marked the second-lowest of his career. The Louisville, Kentucky, native was the team’s lowest scorer in 2019-20 with a 72.88 average. He has a pair of top-20 career finishes with a low of fourth place at the Bearcat Invitational in October of 2019. For his career, Hamilton has produced 23 team-counted scores and 11 par-or-better rounds.
Junior Zach Norris will make his first appearance of the 2020-21 season with a start at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate. He owns a career 74.13 stroke average in 12 career events. Norris has made eight starts and generated 10 par-or-better rounds. His best finish came in the form of a tie for 12th at the Seminole Intercollegiate during his freshman season. The McKee, Kentucky, native made five starts a season ago and finished fourth or better in the lineup in each event.
Parks will make his second start of his sophomore season. He finished in a tie for 55th at the Blessings to open the season. The Campbellsville, Kentucky, native has started seven events and has earned 12 rounds towards the team’s score. In 16 career rounds, he owns a 75.00 career stroke average. Parks fired a career-low round of 70 at the Bearcat Invitational and boasted a career-low score of 218 at that event. He began last season’s spring season with an even-par round at the Dorado Beach Collegiate before the tournament’s final two rounds were canceled due to heavy rain.
The Tournament
The three-day, 54-hole event will be held Sunday-Tuesday at the Old Overton Club in Vestavia Hills, Alabama the home course of the Crimson Tide. All 14 SEC teams are scheduled to be in attendance.
Fans are not permitted to attend the event due to on-going safety measures surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. UK is paired with Auburn and Mississippi State to begin the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate.
Live stats will be provided by golfstat.com.
The Course
Old Overton Golf Club opened in 1993. Designed by Jerry Pate and Tom Fazio, Golf Digest rated Old Overton as the third best course in the state of Alabama. The course is nestled in heavily wooded hills with Lake Overton coming into play on several holes on the back nine.
This will mark the first appearance for the Wildcats in this event under Craig.
The host and tournament namesake Jerry Pate is the one of the most successful professional golfers to have worn the Crimson and White. The former Tide golfer and current Champions Tour player proudly lends his name and plays an active role — from team selection to presenting the awards trophies. Pate and Alabama have hosted this event since 1986. Originally, the tournament was held in Pate’s hometown of Pensacola, Fla. He moved the tournament in 1992 to Birmingham’s Shoal Creek, where it remained for five years. In 1997, the JPNI moved to its current home, the Old Overton Club.
Past winners of the event include the likes of David Toms (1988, LSU), Tiger Woods (1994, Stanford), Rory Sabbatini (1997, Arizona), Hunter Mahan (2001, Oklahoma State), Bill Haas (2003, Oklahoma State) and Justin Thomas (2012, Alabama).
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s golf team, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and on the web at UKathletics.com.
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For more information contact:
Deb Moore