FRANKLIN, Tenn. — Sophomore Alex Goff concluded another spectacular tournament with a third-place finish at the Legends Collegiate Invitational with a final round of 2-under par to get to 12-under for the tournament. He led the way for the Wildcats who capped the week in 14th.
“Alex played so well again this week to just fall a little short,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “That is two fabulous tournaments back to back. What a player he is developing into. He still has work to do, but I sure like the trajectory he is on. For the rest of us, we need to get back to work. I still like this team and hopefully we will have our full roster healthy for this next event. Either way, we will get back to Lexington and start preparing for our last event of the fall season in Birmingham.”
Goff continued to make history during Tuesday’s final round. He turned in a combined 201 scorecard to match Chip McDaniel for the second-lowest tournament score in the Craig era. His second round 64 tied Cullan Brown and Jordan Blann for the lowest under Craig. The marks are also career bests.
The Kings Mountain, North Carolina, native is averaging 68.50 strokes for the season and has played five of six rounds in the 60s. He has made eight starts thus far in his young career and 21 of his 22 rounds have counted towards the team’s score.
Goff played flawlessly to open action in today’s final round. He was even par until picking up a birdie at the par-four 17th – his eighth hole of the round as the Wildcats began the day on the back nine. He picked up some steam with birdies at the first and second to take the individual lead. A birdie at the sixth was bookended by bogeys on the fifth and seventh. He pared his remaining two holes to enter the clubhouse at 12-under par and owning a two-shot advantage with eight teams remaining on the course.
Arkansas’ Julian Perico birdied the 15th to even Goff’s score and then earned the two-shot win with an eagle at the 18th. Vanderbilt’s John Augenstein birdied the 18th to edge Goff for second.
The league’s 14 teams have played in two events thus far this season. Goff is the only player to earn a top-three finish in both tournaments after winning the Blessings Collegiate Invitational earlier this month.
Graduate student Jacob Cook earned his first under-par round of the tournament with a 1-under 70 on Tuesday. He finished tied for 62nd overall at 4-over par for the week. Cook was 1-under on the first nine holes and was even par on the back nine. Three straight birdies on his 10th, 11th and 12th holes were the highlight of his day. His 217 combined total was just one shot off a career-low score.
Senior Allen Hamilton tied for 53rd overall. He shot a 73 during the final round to finish the tournament at 2-over par. He was 2-under over his final eight holes.
Sophomore Jackson LaLonde placed 68th and freshman Campbell Kremer finished in 69th following rounds of 76 and 74, respectively.
Vanderbilt, the host team this week, won the team title and held off Georgia’s late charge by a five-shot margin. The Bulldogs were second, and Texas A&M concluded the week in third.
The teams will return to action at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate hosted by Alabama at the Old Overton Club Nov. 9-10.
