Led by opening rounds of 3-under par from both senior Max Mehles and freshman Cullan Brown the Kentucky men’s golf team concluded the first day of Southeastern Conference Championship action in a tie for third. Kentucky’s round of 275 to open postseason play is the lowest of the season and is tied for the seventh-lowest round under head coach Brian Craig during his tenure.
Wednesday’s round marked the first of three days of 54 holes of stroke play. The top eight teams following the conclusion of Friday’s third round will compete in match play. A champion will be crowned on Sunday.
With Mehles and Brown going low, Kentucky finished the day tied with Ole Miss for third at 5-under. No. 13 Auburn and No. 16 Georgia are the leaders in the clubhouse through 18 holes at 8-under. Fourth-ranked Vanderbilt is fifth at 3-under par.
“Max Mehles and Cullan Brown were awfully solid today,” Craig said. “They did a great job of leading the team on day one. We have a long ways to go, but this is a good start. We will keep giving it our best shot going forward.”
The Wildcats began the day off the No. 10 tee with the Rebels and No. 40 Florida sharing the pairing. Mehles and Brown both enjoyed success over their first nine holes.
Mehles earned the first birdie of the day with one on the par-four 10th to get his round going early. He suffered a bogey at the par-four 13th, but rallied immediately with birdies at the 15th, 16th and 18th to make the turn at 3-under par. He played even par the rest of the way to log a 67 during the opening round. Today’s round tied a career-low score for Mehles. His season-best round was a 69 during the first round of the General Hackler Collegiate in mid-March. He’s tied for fourth entering the second round.
Brown, making his collegiate postseason debut, began his round with a par before birdying the par-four 11th. He pushed his round to 2-under with a birdie at the 13th. He bogeyed the par-four 14th, but fired back with birdies on three successive holes at the 15th, 16th and 17th. Brown made the turn at 4-under par. Another red number, this time at the par-four second, moved his round to 5-under par. He suffered miscues on consecutive holes at the fourth and fifth, but again combated it with a birdie at the par-five seventh to get back to 3-under. He parred the final two holes to get into the clubhouse with a 67 and a tie for fourth on the individual leaderboard.
Senior Lukas Euler was the third Wildcat to conclude the day under par. Euler fired a 1-under 69 and is tied for 15th overall. Euler’s round featured birdies at the par-four fourth and the par-five seventh. He rallied with a par after bogeying the eighth hole to finish his day in red numbers.
Senior Fred Allen Meyer logged a 2-over 72 and junior Matt Liston had a round of 73 during Wednesday’s first round. They’re tied for 41st and 49th, respectively. Liston rallied with birdies on two of his last three holes, while Meyer played 1-under par over his final four holes to pick up some momentum heading into day two.
This marks the 19th year for the SEC Championship to be contested on the Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside Course. The SEC has conducted its annual championship on St. Simons Island since 2001. Since 1927, the Sea Island Golf Club has enjoyed a legacy as one of America’s premier golf clubs.
Rated No. 1 in the U.S. among the “World’s 50 Best Golf Hotels” by Golf Digest Index, Sea Island Golf Club offers three exceptional 18-hole championship courses. The Seaside Course, home to the PGA TOUR’s McGladrey Classic, is a links course graced by majestic ocean vistas in the tradition of St. Andrews.
Originally designed in 1929 by famed architects Harry S. Colt and Charles Alison, the Seaside Course was updated in 1999 by Tom Fazio – earning it a prominent place on Golf Digest’s list of “Top 100 Courses in the United States.”
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s golf team, follow @UKMensGolf on Twitter and on the web at UKathletics.com.
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For more information contact:
Deb Moore