TicketsHUTCHINSON, Kan. – The Cincinnati men’s golf team sits 13th after two rounds of the Big 12 Championship presented by Allstate Monday at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan. Cincinnati third-round tee times get underway at 12:15 p.m. ET Tuesday.
Senior Ryan Ford sits in a tie for seventh at 2-under-par, while sophomores Connor Cassano and Leo Wessel are tied for 49th at 6-over. Senior Connor McNeely and freshman Brayden Miller sit in a tie for 63rd at 10-over.
Cincinnati, which teed off on holes 10-14, jumped out to a hot start in its opening nine, sitting in second place at 3-under with four Bearcats in the top 15 as only three teams were in red numbers after a breezy first nine holes. However, Cincinnati struggled to maintain momentum on its second nine, with several holes playing into a wind gusting up to 30 miles per hour, closing the opening round in eighth place at 7-over.
Ford paced the Bearcats with an even-par 70, carding three birdies against a trio of bogeys, while Wessel was a stroke back with a 1-over 71. Cassano started 3-under through his first eight holes, but went 5-over on his last 10 to post a 2-over 72.
Miller was 2-under through his first three holes of the opening round but finished with a 4-over 74 and McNeely, who was hindered by two double-bogeys on his final five holes, posted a 5-over 75.
The second round followed a similar storyline as the first, with the Bearcats catching fire late on the back nine – their opening nine – before the wind-buffeted front nine stalled the charge as Cincinnati closed with a 12-over 292.
In the afternoon, Ford used seven birdies to card a 2-under 68, but a bogey and a double to finish dropped him from solo third into the tie for seventh. Cassano offset five bogeys and a double with three birdies, including one of just four on the day at the 495-yard, uphill par-4 11th hole, for a 4-over 74.
Wessel and McNeely each posted a 5-over 75, while Miller carded a 6-over 76.