Kentucky mens golf records top-five finish in Schenkel Invitational

Dhaivat+Pandya+competes+during+the+Bearcat+Invitational.+Photo+provided+by+UK+Athletics.

Dhaivat Pandya competes during the Bearcat Invitational. Photo provided by UK Athletics.

Aaron Benjamin, Reporter

Kentucky mens golf finished the Schenkel Invitational in fifth place this past weekend, finishing one over par on Sunday.

Fourteen teams competed in the event that was held at the Forest Heights Country Club in Statesboro, Georgia. Georgia Southern, who hosted the tournament, ended up finishing in first place.

In the first round on Friday, the Cats finished tied for third in the standings. Graduate student Garrett Wood would be tied for fifth at three-under-par while his teammate, senior Alex Goff, would be right behind him, tied for seventh being just one stroke back. 

Kevin Watts, a freshman from Colleyville, Texas, finished at even-par after the first round, tying for nineteenth, while junior Campbell Kremer joined graduate student Dhaivat Pandya in being tied at 44th at three-over-par. 

During the second day of action, Goff led the team, shooting 69, tying him for second individually. The duo of Wood (tied-fourth) and Watts (tied-13th) both shot 71, while Kremer (tied-48th) shot 74 and Pandya (tied-69th) shot 79. As a team the Wildcats shot 285, one stroke better than the previous day.

On the last day of the event, Sunday, Kentucky would shoot a 294, its worst of the three days. Goff and Wood would lead for the team’s best on the day, both shooting a 71 while Kremer recorded a 75 to finish off his participation in the event. Watts would shoot a 77 while Pandya would shoot a 78 in the third round to end the Wildcats’ Sunday. 

The Cats would shoot 865 as a team over the three-day stretch and fall six strokes behind Liberty and eight strokes better than Wisconsin. For comparison, the winner, Georgia Southern, shot 837 while second place Mississippi State and Middle Tennessee State shot 848 and 857 respectively.

With the result Kentucky will head down to Awendaw, South Carolina, to compete in the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate Tournament. The three-day event will start Sunday, March 26, and go through Tuesday, March 28, with South Carolina being the host of the tournament.