Alex Goff and former UK golfers Cooper Musselman and Stephen Stallings will all be playing in the ISCO Championship this week. (UK Athletics Photo)
He’s already had a historic and All-American career at the University of Kentucky but Alex Goff would like to make an even bigger name for himself in this week’s ISCO Championship at Champions at Keene Trace.
“It’s a course I know and a city that I’ve really grown to love. It will be really special to have family and friends and a lot of support out here, so I’m really excited. It’s going to be a special week,” Goff said Wednesday in preparation for today’s opening round.
“We played here quite a bit in college and I mean, it kind of you’ve got to hit it good, make some putts. It’s just a little bit of course knowledge and I think that will do me well.”
He’s built relationships in Lexington and has family coming from the Carolinas where he’s from.
“It will be cool just to see familiar faces in the crowd. It will be awesome just playing in front of them, which is not something you get to do a lot in college and amateur golf. It will be cool to play in front of a crowd,” he said.
Goff felt he got progressively better during his UK career and is now BBN for life.
“I definitely bleed blue now, I didn’t realize the extent of that when I first got to Lexington, but the fan base from really every sport at the University of Kentucky is just awesome. It’s one big family and it really generates a big following, so it’s cool to say I’m a Kentucky alum,” he said.
Goff will have UK assistant coach Chip McDaniel, who has played professionally on the Korn and PGA Tours, as his caddy this week.
“I think having him to keep me calm (helps). He’s been here before, he knows the ropes, how it works and what to do. He has a calm demeanor which I think will serve me well to have him on the bag,” Goff said.
Goff doesn’t want to set big expectations, especially knowing how his nerves might be when he tees off today.
“I can lie to myself and say it’s just a normal tournament, which it is, but it’s a PGA Tour tournament, my first one. Nerves will definitely be there but that’s part of it, that’s what makes it fun,” he said. “Chip will do a good job of calming me down. It’s a place that I know, so I think the comfortability will be good for me.”
