Grover Justice's tee shot Saturday morning sailed left 15 yards past the second hole's putting green.
Nothing spectacular, but nothing to worry about.
Because Justice softly chipped the ball a few yards from the flag and finished the hole with a well-placed putt for a par.
Twenty-seven hours, 52 holes and 204 golf strokes later, the UK sophomore from Pikeville used his consistency to post 70-69-72 rounds for top scorer honors in UK's Johnny Owens Invitational Golf Tournament at Lexington's Kearney Hill Golf Links.
UK's team of five golfers ended the two-day tournament tied for third place at 908 strokes with Georgia's Berry College, which is an NAIA powerhouse, and fell behind 16 strokes to the University of Louisville and seven strokes to Morehead State University.
"You can't take too many risks on this golf course - you just have to hit your greens," said Justice, who became the first Wildcat since Steve Flesch in 1987 to win the home invitational.
"Grover has been the leader of this team all year," UK head coach Steve Smitha said. "He's really been playing well lately and just put everything together today."
Kearney Links, which is a Senior PGA Tour site, and its long, rolling fairways and plentiful sand bunkers posed a challenge for the college golfers, Smitha said.
"You just have to take what the course gives you," Smitha said. Justice kept his good games alive by playing conservatively and hitting for par scores, Smitha said.
Justice attributed a cool head to overcoming some early struggles yesterday after his first eight holes left him three strokes over par.
But birdies on the 15, 18, 2 and 3 holes allowed him to finish with an even par for the round and five under for the tournament.
"I never get too high if I make too many birdies, and I never get too low if I hit any bogeys," Justice said.
In addition, Justice broke two personal bests in the tournament with his low round score of 69 Saturday afternoon and his overall 211 score.
UK (0-3) also had sophomore Todd Bunnell finish 24 overall with a 231 score, followed by junior Dan Johnson (233), sophomore Mike Cassity (236) and freshman Ryan Loghry (246).
Brisk winds kept temperatures on the course chilly Saturday. Smitha said the cool weather may have made it tougher for the golfers to find their rhythm.
Justice's hot hands, however, seemed unaffected beneath two big blue mittens filled with hot packs.
"We've played in colder conditions this winter," Justice said.
In other tournament highlights, Morehead's Chris Gilbert, the son of PGA Tour pro Larry Gilbert, tied the Kearney Hill 18-hole record for an amateur with his 68 score yesterday. Western Kentucky University's Joe Daly fired the same tournament low Saturday.
UK travels to Huntington, W.Va., for the Marshall University Golf Tournament next weekend.
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