TicketsLEXINGTON, Ky. – The Cincinnati men’s golf team finished in a tie for sixth at 6-over at the Cullan Brown Collegiate Tuesday afternoon at Lexington Country Club in Lexington, Ky. Senior Timmy Hollenbeck led the Bearcats in seventh place at 4-under, while sophomore Brayden Miller posted a career-best finish for the second-consecutive event two strokes back in a tie for eighth.
Tennessee ran away with the event at 22-under-par, followed by Mississippi State at even, NC State at 2-over, Kentucky at 3-over, Penn State at 5-over and the Bearcats and Memphis knotted at 6-over. Cincinnati opened with a 3-over 287 Monday before posting an even-par 284 in the suspended second round, which concluded Tuesday morning, and wrapping up the tournament with another 3-over 287 Tuesday afternoon.
“We saw some excellent golf played by Timmy and Brayden but were otherwise pretty poor this week,” Cincinnati head coach Doug Martin said. “We made too many doubles and triples without penalty shots. We’ll have a quick turnaround to conclude the fall season with Big 12 Match Play early next week.”
Hollenbeck offset a double at the par-4 11th with three birdies for a 1-under 70 in his opening round before carding five birdies on his way to a 4-under 67, his lowest round as a Bearcat, in the second. An up and down final round which included an eagle, three birdies, a triple bogey and three bogeys wrapped up with a 1-over 72 and his second top-10 finish of the season.
Miller has now posted career-best finishes three-consecutive tournaments, tying for 21st at the Bearcat Invitational before tying for ninth at the Gopher Invitational and now a tie for eighth at the Cullan Brown Collegiate. The sophomore posted a steady, 1-under 70 in each of the first two rounds in Lexington before carding three birdies against three bogeys on his way to a final-round even-par 71.
Junior Leo Wessel posted a 4-over 75 in his opening round before carding six birdies on his way to a 1-under 70 in the second round. He followed that up with a 3-over 74 in the final round to tie for 45th at 6-over. Freshman Aidan Wilson followed him in a tie for 59th at 8-over, bookending a second-round 6-over 77 with a 1-over 72 in the first and final rounds.
Fifth-year Ryan Ford, playing his first tournament in four weeks, rounded out the Cincinnati lineup in a tie for 72nd at 14-over, while freshman Eli Wessel, playing as an individual, tied his fellow Indiana native.
As a team, the Bearcats ranked third in the 15-team field in par-3 scoring at 7-over. Cincinnati’s two eagles tied for most in the field and the Bearcats’ 46 bogeys tied for second-fewest, but their nine double-bogeys or worse marked the fourth-most in the field. Individually, Hollenbeck’s four bogeys tied for second in the field, while Leo Wessel tied for third in par-3 scoring at 1-under for the tournament.
The Bearcats conclude their fall slate when they travel to Salt Lake City, Utah, for Big 12 Match Play Oct. 12-14 at the Country Club of Salt Lake.