Golf team finishes seventh at Missouri Tiger Intercollegiate

The Bearcats posted a two-day total of 920 and improved in each of the three rounds en route to a seventh-place finish at the Missouri Tiger Intercollegiate in Verona on Sept. 6. Senior Jake Katz paced the team with a 1-under 71 in the final round to claim a share of second in the individual standings.

Entering the day in ninth place after a 36-hole total of 150, Katz started on the seventh hole of Turning Stone Resort’s Kaluhyat course and caught fire on the back side with birdies on Nos. 10, 13 and 17. His lone mishap came via a double-bogey on the par-4 third, which could have put the pressure on Oakland University’s Jakob Ziegler, the eventual winner who was competing alongside Katz.

“He hit the ball so well today,” said Head Coach Bernie Herceg, of Katz’s final-round effort. “He’s improved to a point where it’s unbelievable. He inspires the rest of the team because of his work ethic and how good he’s become. It’s great to have someone I can count on like that. He has the ability to win every single tournament.”

With his 54-hole total of 221 (+5), Katz earned his sixth runner-up performance in his career at Binghamton University. He led the team in seven of 11 events last year and finished in second place in five of them.

The Bearcats entered the day in seventh place following a grueling 36-holes in windy conditions on Sept. 5. However, Binghamton couldn’t improve upon its opening day effort and remained in seventh by the conclusion of play. Purdue University won the 18-team field.

“I was happy with how we finished place-wise,” Herceg said. “I thought we could have moved up a couple spots if we played well. Our goal was to finish in the top-5. But, overall I thought it was a good start to the year.”

Sophomore David Cellura carded rounds of 79-75-76 for a 25th-place spot in the standings out of 90.

The Bearcats will next compete in the Rhode Island Adams Cup on Sept. 20-21.