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The University of Cincinnati men's golf team shot a 7-over par 291 Sunday to sit four strokes off the lead in fourth place after the opening round of the American Championship at the Innisbrook Golf & Spa Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida.
The Bearcats trail tournament leader USF, who carded a 3-over 287. Houston ranks second at 4-over 288 while UCF is third at 5-over 289.
"Being patient today played huge dividends for us," UC head coach Doug Martin said. "The golf course is playing extremely difficult. It is firm and fast. But all five of our guys had solid rounds."
UC sophomore Austin Squires (Union, Ky./Ryle High School) leads all Bearcats, tying for seventh position Sunday at 1-over 72. He registered four birdies and 10 par scores to finish four strokes behind tournament leader Papito Gonzalez of Houston, who posted a 3-under 68.
A trio of Bearcats is among 12 players tied for 11th place at 2-over 72. Senior Jared O'Kelley (Canton, Ga./Creekview High School) had a pair of birdies and 12 par scores but bogeys on his final two holes prevented a higher finish Sunday. Senior Brennen Walsh (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder High School) finished with a trio of birdies and 10 par scores. He was 1-under at the turn before recording a 3-over on the back nine. Freshman Jake Fox (Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller High School) settled down after a slow start to finish with a trio of birdies and 10 par scores, including six pars on the back nine. Senior Chad Howard (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome High School) tied for 30th place at 5-over 76.
"We talked as a team last night that if we stay patient and not get ahead of ourselves good things will happen," Martin said. "It was one of the most patient rounds by one of my teams in 11 years of coaching."
Second-round action of the three-day, 54-hole event tees off Monday at the Copperhead Course (Par 71, 7,209 yards) beginning at 8 a.m. ET. Live scoring is available at GolfStat.com.
Cincinnati has finished sixth in the American Championship each year since the league's creation in 2013-14. O'Kelley served as UC's top performer at last year's league tournament, tying for 14th place overall at 2-over par 218 at the Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Florida. Squires tied for 29th place at 11-over 227.
// BEARCATS SCORERS
T-7th - Austin Squires, So., Union, Ky./Ryle High School - 72 (+1)
T-11th - Jared O'Kelley, Sr., Canton, Ga./Creekview High School - 73 (+2)
T-11th - Brennen Walsh, Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder High School - 73 (+2)
T-11th - Jake Fox, Fr., Cincinnati, Ohio/Moeller High School - 73 (+2)
T-30th - Chad Howard, Sr., Dublin, Ohio/Jerome High School - 76 (+5)
// TEAM STANDINGS
1st - USF - 287 (+3)
2nd - Houston - 288 (+4)
3rd - UCF - 289 (+5)
4th - Cincinnati - 291 (+7)
5th - Memphis - 294 (+10)
6th - Connecticut - 295 (+11)
7th - Temple - 298 (+11)
8th - East Carolina - 299 (+15)
9th - SMU - 301 (+17)