Kentucky men's golf claims top spot after Round 2

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. - Kentucky remained atop the leaderboard on Saturday following the second round of the Southeastern Conference Men's Golf Championship on Sea Island Golf Club's Seaside Course.

The No. 32-ranked Wildcats fired an 9-over 289 on Saturday to move to 6-over 566 for the tournament. Tied for the lead after the first day, Kentucky has a 2-shot lead over Georgia's 8-over 568 and a 4-shot lead over Texas A&M's 10-over 570. Arkansas (11-over 571) and Auburn (14-over 574) round out the top five.

"We've played well the first two days," Kentucky head coach Brian Craig said. "The golf course has played really hard, but we've executed well and we've done a good job of staying patient. I still think it's a wide-open tournament. We know we'll have to go out and play great because there's so many good teams in the hunt. We're going to play Sunday like we're 10 behind, because as soon as you lay off, somebody will catch you."

The Wildcats counted a 71 from Cooper Musselman, 72s from Tyler McDaniel and Stephen Stallings Jr., and a 74 from David Snyder on Saturday. Kentucky has three players in the top 10 individually in McDaniel (third) and Musselman and Stallings (both ninth).

Georgia's Lee McCoy moved into the individual lead on Saturday as he shot even-par 70 for a total of 2-under 138. McCoy is one shot ahead of Auburn's Matt Gilchrist, and two clear of a group at even-par 140 that includes McDaniel, Arkansas' Taylor Moore, Texas A&M's Andrew Lister, Tennessee's Chad Merzbacher, LSU's Eric Ricard and Vanderbilt's Matthias Schwab.

"I've never really even contended for the SEC title," McCoy said. "It's always been an event where I've struggled. So I'm happy to have turned things around thus far. In a tournament of this magnitude, all you ever want is a chance to contend on Sunday. To be out front heading into the last day is a bonus."

Said Bulldogs head coach Chris Haack, "Lee seems to be putting it in the right spots. He left a few out there today, but all in all, he's hitting it pretty well. He's put himself in a good position for Sunday."

The final round of the SEC Championship will begin on Sunday with tee times starting at 7:30 a.m. Live results can be found at GolfStat.com and SECSports.com.