On April 6, Kentucky Men’s golf opened play at its last event of the regular season at the Mason Rudolph Championship at the Vanderbilt Legends-South Course for a three-day tournament.
The event marked the team’s first time coming back to the tournament since 2019 after tying for fourth. Three top-10 teams in the SEC, No. 3 Vanderbilt, No. 5 Ole Miss and No. 10 Alabama were all competitors the Wildcats went in very aware of.
On day one of gameplay, redshirt freshman Oakley Gee made 17 pars and a lone bogey on his round, tying him for 20th.
Campbell Kremer set a notable score for the team with three birdies on his way to a round of 74. Kremer birdied holes one, 13 and 18 on a day where not many birdies were being recorded.
Junior transfer Jansen Preston joined Kremer at three-over-par. After his return to his home turf this weekend he was eager to impress.
Graduate student Alex Goff was the fourth counting score for Kentucky at five-over-par, placing him in a tie for 57th.
On day two, the team improved its scoring by nine shots, posting a three-over-par of 287 on Saturday.
The Cats started off their second day in 12th place but climbed three spots to ninth just behind Alabama after carding 15-over par as a group.
Preston continued to impress on the course after matching his career low with a three-under-par 68, which carded four birdies. He made no bogeys on his homeward nine, posting his ninth round of par-or-better this season, second to Goff. Preston ended the day in a tie for 11th.
Goff came back in round two, carding an even-par 71 with birdies on 12, 14 and six, which was five shots better than his first-round output to leave him tied for 41st.
UK‘s captain Kremer duplicated his first-round score of 74 after recovering from a triple-bogey on hole 10 — his first hole of the day — with birdies on holes 13, 14 and 18. He tied for 47th.
Freshman Michael Hake also posted a three-over-par 74 in round two and was a counting score for the Wildcats for the fourth time in eight rounds during the spring season. Gee struggled after finishing seven-over-par and tied for 56th.
On the final day, the players came out strong, finishing ninth.
Preston, the linchpin of the team in the tournament, secured his inaugural collegiate top-20 finish while Kremer wrapped up the event with a tie for 51st place, following a challenging 10-over-par weekend.
Kremer did, however, conclude on a high note, clinching an eagle-birdie combo on the 17th and 18th holes, crucially contributing to the team’s tally.
Goff maintained his impeccable scoring streak for the season, culminating in a tie for 40th finish. Round three saw a noteworthy performance as he notched four birdies, setting a personal record. This achievement marked his highest tally of birdies in a single tournament.
“I’m proud of the fight our guys showed this week,” UK head coach Gator Todd said to UK Athletics. “We got off to a rough start and they battled. Proud of Jansen for having his best career finish. He has taken some great steps this spring. We’re looking forward to having a couple of weeks back home to prepare for the SEC championship.”
UK will compete in the SEC Championship at the Sea Island Golf Club from April 24-28.
