TicketsUniversity of Cincinnati senior Davis Baxter (Nolensville, Tenn./Ravenwood High School) carded a 1-under par 70 for the third consecutive day to finish tied for second at 3-under 70-70-70=210 Tuesday at the American Championship at the Innisbrook Golf & Spa Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida.
Making his first appearance in an AAC Championship, Baxter recorded the highest individual finish by a Bearcat in the five-year history of the event surpassing a tie for fifth by Austin Squires (Union, Ky./Ryle High School) at last year's tournament. The performance earns Baxter all-conference recognition.
Baxter's tie for second place marks the senior's best finish of the 2017-18 campaign and was the second highest finish of his career (won medalist honors at the 2015 Mountaineer Intercollegiate).
Baxter completed this week's tournament as the only player in the 50-man field to register below par scores in all three rounds. He posted par or better scores on 16 of his 18 holes Tuesday, making the turn at 2-under and completing the day with a trio of birdies and 13 par scores.
Baxter tied USF's Cristian DiMarco (3-under 71-69-70=210), ranked 61st in the nation according to Golfstat rankings, and USF's Jimmy Jones (3-under 71-70-69=210) for second place. USF's Claudio Correa, ranked 32nd in the nation, claimed medalist honors at 6-under 71-67-69=207.
Squires moved up one place in the individual standings Tuesday to tie for 13th place at 4-over 72-74-71=217. His even-par 71 effort Tuesday featured par or better scores on 15 of the 18 holes, including a trio of birdies on the front nine. The result marks Squires' seventh Top 20 finish of the 2017-18 campaign.
UC freshman Nicolas Osterburg moved up six places Tuesday, tying for 36th place at 12-over 74-79-72=225. Redshirt-freshman Andy Mayhew finished tied for 43rd at 14-over 75-71-81=227. Sophomore Jake Fox was 50th at 30-over 86-82-75=243.
As a team, the Bearcats recorded their second-best finish in the history of the event, taking fifth place at 21-over 291-294-288=873. UC tied for second a year ago.
USF won the team title for the fourth consecutive year, posting a 10-under 284-279-279=842. SMU took third at 10-over 290-292-280=862. UCF finished fourth at 13-over 289-295-281=865. Memphis jumped the Bearcats Tuesday to finish fourth at 19-over 302-287-282=871.
// QUOTING COACH DOUG MARTIN
On Cincinnati's final-round performance:
"Today provided the easiest course conditions we played in for the championship. We were unable to get anything going early in the round. We hit a lot of great shots early but didn't convert the opportunities. That really hurt our chances to make a move. Overall, I am very proud of this group and what steps we took to become a better team and program.
"Individually, Davis Baxter capped off his senior campaign with a great event, earning all-conference honors as a result of his play during this week. Austin Squires also did some good things this week closing out his junior year."
// CINCINNATI PLAYERS
T2 – Davis Baxter 70-70-70=210 (-3)
T13 – Austin Squires 72-74-71=217 (+4)
T36 – Nicolas Osterburg 74-79-72=225 (+12)
T43 – Andy Mayhew 75-71-81=227 (+14)
50 – Jake Fox 86-82-75=243 (+30)
// TEAM STANDINGS
1 – South Florida 284-279-279=842 (-10)
2 – SMU 290-292-280=862 (+10)
3 – UCF 289-295-281=865 (+13)
4 – Memphis 302-287-282=871 (+19)
5 – Cincinnati 291-294-288=873 (+21)
6 – Houston 301-289-285=875 (+23)
7 – East Carolina 292-295-290=877 (+25)
8 – Temple 296-291-295=882 (+30)
9 – UConn 302-296-287=885 (+33)
10 – Wichita State 292-302-298=892 (+40)