Kentucky men’s golf fielded two teams that both finished in the top ten of the inaugural Cullan Brown Collegiate.
“I wouldn’t say there’s any pressure, but I was just excited, just excited to play at home,” Jacob Settles said of the pressure coming into the tournament.
Although Settles says he felt no added pressure, there were expectations set on the Wildcats to perform and defend their home turf.
The two-day tournament at the Lexington Country Club honored former Wildcat Brown.
The Cullan Brown was the first event Kentucky has hosted since the UK Bluegrass Invitational in 2015, so it’s fitting that first home event in nearly ten years had a deeper meaning behind it.
The Cullan Brown was created to honor the legacy of Brown, who, in 2020, lost his battle with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer.
The 14 schools competing saw clear blue skies, warm temperatures and light winds; what some would call perfect conditions over the two-day tournament.
Playing for Team “A” was Oakley Gee, Michael Hake, Solomon Petrie, Jansen Preston and Jack Schoenberger.
Team “A” placed as high as second, but by the end of the event it placed third amongst the 14 schools.
The standout from team “A” was sophomore Hake, who shot three straight rounds of 73 and never finished a round below tied for fifth.
“I played quite a few tournaments over the summer that were good,” Hake said. “All the coaches keep us really ready to go and we have a great team. I mean any guy can step up any week and you know fill in, so that’s just what I did this week.”.
Stepping up is just what Hake did, as he totaled six birdies over three rounds to help him get his best collegiate finish as he tied for third individually at 3-over-par.
Also stepping up for Kentucky, the mostly youth filled team, “B,” featured Wesley Beard, Gavin Clutts, Jackson Klutznick, Jacob Lang and Settles.
Three true freshmen, one redshirt freshman and a graduate student had an impressive tie for sixth team finish.
Perhaps even more impressive was that both Beard and Settles were making their collegiate debuts.
History will show that Beard finished 66th and Settles finished tied for 20th in their debuts. The record books will also show that Settles is just one of five Wildcats who placed top 20 this tournament.
Those five are Hake, who tied for third, and, in a four-way-tie for 20th, Preston, Petrie, Lang and Settles.
Day one of the tournament was a 36-hole day that started at 9 a.m. sharp, though as the sun came down, the pace of play sped up.
The swift darkness kept some groups from completing their second rounds including some Wildcats. At the end of the day, Kentucky’s Petrie and Hake sat tied for second at 3-over-par individually.
The second round resumed the next day at 9 a.m. with round three following immediately after the groups completed their previous round of golf.
Day two saw the same perfect weather, but it also saw much movement on the team leaderboard with team “A” moving in and out of the top five and team “B” falling as far down as ninth place.
Both teams were able to finish strong though, as the golfers on team “A” together shot 896 (+44) for the tournament and team “B” shot 902 (+50).
The final bits of action from the tournament saw most of the Kentucky team standing together on hole 18 watching Schoenberger hit his final putt of the tournament.
In the end, it was Kennesaw State that walked away with the first-place title at 29-over-par.
Kennesaw State’s Claes Borregaard and North Alabama’s Andrew Ferworn shared the individual win at 5-over for the tournament.
The next time Kentucky will tee off is the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational taking place Oct. 26-27. The Steelwood will be the finishing touch on the Wildcats’ fall section of their schedule.