TicketsCINCINNATI – The Cincinnati men’s golf team opens its spring schedule at the Colleton River Collegiate Sunday and Monday at Colleton River Club’s Dye Course in Bluffton, S.C. The 15-team event includes 36 holes of play with a shotgun start Sunday, followed by 18 holes Monday.
Cincinnati’s lineup will consist of Ryan Ford, Leo Wessel, Connor McNeely, Rylan Wotherspoon and Brayden Miller, with Connor Cassano participating as an individual.
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The tournament is the first of five spring tournaments for the Bearcats before the Big 12 Championship April 27-29 at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan. Cincinnati, which was receiving votes in the final Bushnell/Golfweek Coaches Poll of the fall, placed in the top five in four of its five fall tournaments, winning the Bearcat Invitational Sept. 16.
NOTEWORTHY
Tournament History: This week will mark the 14th edition of the Colleton River Collegiate, one of the premier collegiate events in the country, that prioritizes supporting Lowcountry charities.
The Course: The 7,403-yard, par-72 Dye Course in the South Carolina Lowcountry is surrounded by water on three sides and bordered by an 1,100-acre nature preserve. The course offers views of the Port Royal Sound and Atlantic Ocean. The links-style layout features small, undulating greens guarded by deep pot bunkers. The course has hosted the South Carolina Amateur, U.S. Open qualifiers and the 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur, in addition to being chosen as a filming location for “The Legend of Bagger Vance.”
The Field: Along with Cincinnati, the 15-team field includes host Michigan State, East Tennessee State, Indiana, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Kentucky, Memphis, Minnesota, Missouri, Northwestern, Ohio State, Rutgers and UT-Chattanooga.
BEARCATS IN 2025-26
Through five fall tournaments, senior Ryan Ford leads the Bearcats with a 69.36 scoring average and four-consecutive top-10 finishes, while sophomore Leo Wessel sits second with a 70.36 average and a pair of top-10s. Seniors Connor McNeely and Rylan Wotherspoon also have participated in all five events in the Bearcat lineup, with Wotherspoon tallying a 72.00 scoring average and McNeely averaging 72.14.
Ford has played nine of his 14 rounds under par, while Wessel has played eight of 14 under par.
FORD CLIMBING UP PGA TOUR U RANKINGS
Ryan Ford has moved to 41st in the latest PGA TOUR University rankings released Feb. 25.
In partnership with the World Amateur Golf Rankin, PGA TOUR University ranks players based on the last two years of their collegiate careers. Eligible Tournaments include NCAA Division I men’s team competitions, official PGA TOUR tournaments and select DP World Tour events. The ranking period for the Class of 2026 began Week 23/2024 and concludes June 1, 2026, following the final round of stroke play at the NCAA D-I Men’s National Championship. At the conclusion of stroke play at the NCAA D-I Men’s National Championship, the top 25 eligible players in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking will earn status on the PGA TOUR, Korn Ferry Tour, or PGA TOUR Americas.
CINCINNATI RUNS AWAY WITH BEARCAT INVITATIONAL
Three Bearcats finished in the top 10 and Cincinnati tallied three-consecutive rounds at 6-under par en route to an 11-stroke victory over an 18-team field at the Bearcat Invitational at Coldstream Country Club Sept. 16.
The host Bearcats, who won the event for the second time in four years, were paced by McNeely and Wessel, who tied for sixth at 4-under, and Ford, who finished a stroke back in a tie for ninth. All five Bearcats finished in the top 14 of the event.