Kentucky mens golf records second best result behind Alex Goff in South Carolina

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

The Kentucky mens golf team finished its participation in the Hootie at Bulls Bay Intercollegiate tournament, finishing in a tie for sixth with the College of Charleston.

The tournament featured fifteen teams from around the country including SEC teams Kentucky, Missouri and South Carolina. The tournament was held in Awendaw, South Carolina, at Bulls Bay Golf Club. 

The Wildcats finished tied for fourth at the end of Friday, the first day which featured the first round of the tournament. The team shot a 280 and tied on the day with NC State.

Individually, senior Alex Goff tied for first overall in the first round, shooting a 66 along with freshman teammate Kevin Watts. Their impressive performances led the Cats, who got out to a hot start. Campbell Kremer tied for 29th with a 71 and senior Jackson LaLonde shot a 77 and tied for 73rd. Finally, graduate student Garrett Wood shot a 78 and tied for 78th.

The second round saw Kentucky drop down in the rankings to tie for sixth. Goff claimed the top spot to be the No. 1 overall player while Watts fell to tie for 44th, shooting a 78, and Kremer shot 73, placing the same as Watts. Wood improved his first-round score by five shots, shooting a 73 to tie for 72nd and LaLonde tied for 76 and shot a 75, two shots better than round one.

Kentucky would not improve its position from the second to the third day. Alex Goff would finish in second place overall, shooting a 69, Kremer shot a 71, matching his first-round score to tie for 40th, Watts shot a 72, tying for 45th, Wood shot 68, which was a personal tournament best but saw him tie for 62nd, and LaLonde rounded out the blue and white shooting 71, also a tournament best while finishing tied for 70th. 

The Wildcats finished with an overall score of 845, 21 back from the winners: the East Tennessee State Buccaneers. 

Next, Kentucky will travel to Charlottesville, Virginia, to compete in the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial, a two-day event that is held at Birdwood Golf Club and hosted by Virginia. The event will stretch from April 10-11 and will be the last competition before the SEC Championships.