Cullan Brown is a Kentucky golf legend. UK is honoring him by hosting a new tournament.
For the first time in nearly a decade, the Kentucky men’s golf program is hosting a tournament. And the event will honor one of the most beloved golfers in program history.
On Monday and Tuesday, UK will host the first edition of the Cullan Brown Collegiate at Lexington Country Club. The event — named for Cullan Brown, a former UK golfer who died in 2020 — is the first tournament to be hosted by the UK men’s golf program since April 2015.
A commonwealth native from Lyon County, Brown died at the age of 20 from osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer in his left thigh.
Brown was an All-SEC Freshman Team choice in 2019 and made the cut later that year at the PGA Tour event then-known as the Barbasol Championship in Nicholasville.
Prior to his time at UK, Brown won an individual state championship in golf at Lyon County High School in 2016. A golf course in Eddyville, The Cullan at Mineral Mound State Park, is named in Brown’s honor.
“It’s really important,” second-year Kentucky men’s golf coach Gator Todd said of continuing to honor Brown. “We actually keep his locker, as is, in our locker room. We have our kitchen named “Cullan’s Kitchen” as he was a famous cook, I believe. I just think it’s cool for guys who played with him. I just think that they’re all looking forward to next week too and I think it’s going to be an awesome week.”
Jansen Preston, a redshirt senior and team captain on this year’s UK squad, grew up playing golf with Brown.
A product of Lexington Christian Academy who previously played for Todd while the duo were at Vanderbilt, Preston played against Brown during the 2013 Kentucky Middle School State Championship. Brown won the event while Preston came in second.
“He was an awesome person, he was one of the best guys I think any of us have ever known,” Preston said of Brown. “To play in a tournament with his name, trying to honor his legacy, it’s very important to all of us.”
“He was always the life of the tournament at every tournament he went to,” Preston added about Brown, who was inducted into the Kentucky Golf Hall of Fame in 2023.
Brown’s sister, Cathryn, is a sophomore standout on the Kentucky women’s golf team.
Information about Cullan Brown Collegiate hosted by UK men’s golf
Next week’s Cullan Brown Collegiate will feature a field of 14 schools: Bellarmine, Belmont, Eastern Kentucky, Evansville, Kennesaw State, Kentucky, Mercer, Morehead State, North Alabama, Purdue Fort Wayne, South Alabama, Toledo, UT Chattanooga and Western Kentucky.
The 54-hole event will be split into a 36-hole day on Monday and an 18-hole day on Tuesday.
“I think it’s a huge advantage,” Todd said of hosting a tournament. “I think it’s always nice to sleep in your own bed. It’s a golf course that we’re very familiar with.”
Todd said that players and coaches taking part in the tournament would have tickets to Keeneland on Saturday, as the Lexington horse racing track began its Fall Meet this weekend.
The plan is for the Cullan Brown Collegiate to become an annual event on the Kentucky men’s golf schedule.
So far this season, the UK men’s golf team has finished ninth at the Folds of Honor Collegiate in Michigan, 11th at the Bearcat Invitational in Cincinnati and 10th at the Windon Memorial Classic in Illinois.
The Cullan Brown Collegiate is the fourth of five fall events for the Kentucky men’s golf team.
Junior Jack Schoenberger, a newcomer to Kentucky who previously played at Belmont, has recorded top-20 finishes in all three events.
“We’re trying to take this program to a place it’s never been before,” Todd said. “We’ve got a really good class that we’re about to sign in 2025. We’re just trying to take this program to the next level. I feel like, it’s been 20-plus years since we won an SEC Championship, so we’re trying to get back on that SEC, national stage.”
Kentucky will have both an “A” lineup and a “B” lineup for the tournament, which means all 10 UK men’s golfers will compete in the event.
Cullan Brown Collegiate
What: 14-team college men’s golf tournament.
When: Monday and Tuesday.
Where: Lexington Country Club.
Competing schools: Bellarmine, Belmont, Eastern Kentucky, Evansville, Kennesaw State, Kentucky, Mercer, Morehead State, North Alabama, Purdue Fort Wayne, South Alabama, Toledo, UT Chattanooga, Western Kentucky.
Coverage: Live stats can be found on Golfstat.
Tickets: Fans can attend the Cullan Brown Collegiate, free of charge.
This story was originally published October 4, 2024 at 6:30 AM.
