TicketsHUTCHINSON, Kan. – Senior Ryan Ford sits in a tie for sixth to lead the Cincinnati men’s golf team after the third round of the Big 12 Championship presented by Allstate Tuesday at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan. The Bearcats, who posted a 4-over 284 Tuesday for their best round of the week by three strokes, sit in 13th place at 23-over with a round to play.
Cincinnati final-round tee times get underway at 10:15 a.m. ET Wednesday.
“This team has been about resiliency all year,” Cincinnati head coach Doug Martin said. “Our biggest issue has been getting behind but there’s no quit in this group. We have struggles at times finishing rounds and holding rounds together. The three rounds we’ve played here this week, if you take away holes 8-12, we’d be somewhere around the top five. While those holes have obviously been a challenge for everybody, we simply need to be better as a team and a program in those difficult situations.”
With the Bearcats starting on No. 10 Tuesday morning, Ford carded two birdies and two bogeys on the back nine – his opening nine – before overcoming three bogeys with two birdies and an eagle at the par-5 seventh to post a 1-under 69 for his second-consecutive round in red numbers and fourth in the last three events.
Freshman Brayden Miller bounced back from a rocky start Monday to post five birdies against three bogeys and a double for an even-par 70 to jump six spots into a tie for 57. Sophomores Leo Wessel and Connor Cassano each carded a 4-over 74 and are tied with Miller for 57th at 10-over.
Senior Connor McNeely also got himself back on track after a difficult first day, recording a pair of birdies on his way to a 1-over 71 and a tie for 62nd at 11-over.
As a team, the Bearcats are tied for fourth in the 16-team field with 44 birdies through three rounds. Individually, Ford is tied for second-best in the 96-competitor field in par-5 scoring at 6-under and tied for fifth with 14 birdies.