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The 32nd ranked UK men’s golf team showed up to the River course at the Rio Mar Country Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico with hopes of a strong showing to start off its spring season. The Cats did just that, finishing in fourth place with an 11-under par 853. 

Sophomore and sixth ranked player in the nation Tyler “Chip” McDaniel carried his momentum over from the fall season and came in at 3-under par and a tie for 11th after rounds of 71-72-70.

Sophomore Cooper Musselman also led the Cats, showing up big this week with consistent rounds of 72-70-71 to also put him in a tie for 11^th at 3-under par.

McDaniel and Musselman were followed by junior Stephen Stallings, who started out red-hot at 6-under after the first two rounds, but finished up the third round with a 6-over par 78 which put him in a tie for 27^th for the tournament at even par.

“Stephen put himself in position to win the event after 36 holes and is blossoming into an outstanding player in the world of high level collegiate golf,” UK men’s golf head coach Brian Craig said. “If you followed him around for a week, you would know why. ‘Stallzy’ is the consummate professional.  His work ethic is off the charts, his fundamentals are brilliant and he has learned how to control his emotions and pay attention to the details.”

Senior David Snyder finished at 4-over and tied for 39^th with rounds of 72-74-74. Freshman Fred Allen Meyer started off slowly with rounds of 81 and 74, but came out of the final round with a career-low 69 after he had been sidelined by injury for over a year.

“This week was Fred Allen’s first competitive event in 17 months and he shot 74, 69 over the last two rounds and was low round for us today,” Craig said. “That is simply fabulous and a testament to his character and perseverance.”

The team also had three individuals make the trip to Puerto Rico for the individual tournament. Freshman Lukas Euler finished fourth, freshman Jalen Ledger finished ninth and sophomore Chris Meuth finished 12^th.

Seventh-ranked Alabama took home the team-individual sweep with a stellar 25-under par performance and a very impressive individual showing from junior Robby Shelton who captured the win at 11-under par after rounds of 70-70-65.

The only teams to best UK were Alabama, 12^th-ranked Clemson and No. 16 Georgia. The Cats finished higher than three teams with a higher ranking than them; including No. 8 North Carolina, No. 15 Oklahoma and No. 17 Purdue. 

UK looks to keep the solid start going and turn one solid week into two when they travel to Auburn, Alabama, for the Tiger Invitational March 6-8.