LOXLEY, Ala. – Kentucky men’s golf wrapped up its fall season on Sunday with an eighth-place finish at the Steelwood Collegiate Invitational, hosted by South Alabama at Steelwood Country Club (par 72, 7,096 yards).

The Wildcats ended the tournament with their best 54-hole team total of the fall, an even-par 864 that was polished off by a 1-over par total on Sunday.

“I’m proud of the way our team fought back after a tough start in the first round,” head coach Gator Todd said. “We were near the bottom of the leaderboard after round one and we showed some fight and resiliency over the final two rounds.”

Senior Jansen Preston nabbed his third top 20 finish in five starts this fall, closing with a 1-under par 71 to tie for 18th at 3-under overall. Preston finishes the fall season with a team-best seven rounds of par-or-better. The Lexington native had 14 total birdies on the tournament to lead all Wildcats. Kentucky’s freshmen tandem of Jacob Lang and Jacob Settles also enjoyed strong performances. Lang followed up his 68 in round two with a 1-under par 71 on Sunday to finish tied for 37th at 1-over. Settles, meanwhile, finished just one shot behind his classmate in a tie for 41st at 2-over.

“I thought it was a really positive week for our freshmen,” Todd said. “They are so coachable and I love the steps they are taking. I’m also proud of the consistency our captain Jansen Preston played with.”

Jack Schoenberger carded his third-straight round of 73 (+1) to close his week in a tie for 43rd, while Solomon Petrie was 76th at 16-over par. Individual Michael Hake tied for 60th at 8-over on the tournament.

UK’s six players combined for 19 birdies in the final round, led by five from Lang. On the tournament, the Cats produced 60 birdies and two eagles. The team’s even-par total for the week was its best in relation to par thus far this season by a margin of 17 shots.

Kentucky will now look toward the spring season which is set to begin for the Cats at the Watersound Invitational, Feb 17-19.

Leaderboard

T17: Jansen Preston (72-70-71)
T37: Jacob Lang (78-68-71)
T41: Jacob Settles (74-70-74)
T43: Jack Schoenberger (73-73-73)
T60: Michael Hake* (78-69-77)
76: Solomon Petrie (75-78-79)
Bold = Counting score
*Individual

For the latest on UK Men’s Golf follow the Wildcats on and Instagram @UKmensgolf, and online at ukathletics.com.