TicketsGRAND HAVEN, Mich. – The Cincinnati men’s golf team continued its strong play, carding a final-round 10-under-par 274 to finish fourth at 10-under for the tournament at the Folds of Honor Collegiate at American Dunes Golf Club in Grand Haven, Mich., Wednesday. Georgia Tech won the event at 18-under, followed by Notre Dame and Texas at 13-under and the Bearcats at 10-under. Alabama, which finished fifth at 8-under, Ohio State and Michigan at 3-under and Kansas at 1-under were the other teams to finish in red figures for the event.
The 10-under final round, which was the best of the day and third-best of any team in the event, combined with a 4-under second round Tuesday as the Bearcats had the best final two rounds of any team in the competitive field. The final-round 274 was one of the 10 best rounds in program history and the 10-under standing for the event tied for the seventh-best in relation to par in program history.
“I am so proud of this team,” Cincinnati head coach Doug Martin said. “Nobody beat us the last two rounds. I challenged them after Monday and I was so impressed with how they responded and how hard they competed the last two days, especially today. We have a lot to build on from this tournament heading into the Bearcat next week.”
Cincinnati looks to defend its title at the Bearcat Invitational Monday and Tuesday at Coldstream Country Club. The event, which features 36 holes of play Monday and 18 Tuesday, is slated for a 9 a.m. shotgun start both days and is free to the public.
Three Bearcats finished in the top 20, paced by Timmy Hollenbeck, a senior transfer from Wright State, who tied for sixth at 5-under in his opening tournament as a Bearcat. The Mason, Ohio, native finished in red figures all three rounds, using four birdies in his opening 11 holes Wednesday to vault into a tie for second before finishing with a 1-under 70.
Freshman Eli Wessel was impressive in his first collegiate event, following up a pair of even-par 71 rounds with a 4-under 67 final round that featured three birdies and an eagle at the par-5 sixth to tie for ninth. Fifth year Ryan Ford responded after a 3-over 74 in the opening round Monday to post a 1-under 70 Tuesday and a bogey-free 3-under 68 in the final round to tie for 18th at 1-under.
Freshman Aidan Wilson struggled to a 4-over 75 Wednesday but still posted a tie for 40th finish at 6-over in his first collegiate tournament, while sophomore Brayden Miller responded nicely with five birdies en route to a 2-under 69 final round for a tie for 46th at 7-over.
As a team, the Bearcats tore up the par-5’s, finishing at a tournament-best 12-under, tying for third with 51 birdies, and carding 38 bogeys, the fewest in the 14-team field. Cincinnati also ranked third in the field in par-4 scoring at 3-over. Individually, Hollenbeck ranked second in the field in par-4 scoring at 8-under, while Wilson’s five bogeys tied for the second-fewest.