Louisville, behind the 1-2 punch of John Murphy, a senior
from Ireland, and Matthias Schmid, a junior from Germany, rolled to an
impressive 26-shot victory in the Bearcat Invitational, which wrapped up
Tuesday at Coldstream Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Murphy outdueled Schmid, who finished in a tie for second in
the individual standings in the NCAA Louisville Regional and led the Cardinals
to the NCAA Championship last spring, down the stretch to capture the
individual title.
Murphy grabbed a one-shot lead with rounds of 4-under-par 67
and 5-under 66 over the 7,111-yard, par-71 Coldstream layout in Monday’s double
round before really going off with a final round of 8-under 63 to capture the
individual title with sizzling 17-under 196 total.
Schmid opened with a pair of 4-under 67s in Monday’s double
round and only trailed Murphy by a shot. It’s not like he played poorly in the
final round, but his 6-under 65 left him in second place, three shots behind
Murphy at 14-under 199.
The Cardinals opened with rounds of 12-under 272 and
10-under 274 in Monday’s double round before closing with the best round of the
tournament, a 15-under 269 that left them with a 37-under 815 total.
Arkansas, which stormed to an unlikely Southeastern
Conference crown last spring, was the runnerup with an 11-under 841 total. The
Razorbacks opened with rounds of 3-under 281 and 6-under 278 in Monday’s double
round before closing with a 2-under 282. Louisville and Arkansas were the only
two teams to finish under par.
Arkansas’ SEC rival Kentucky was another 13 shots behind the
Razorbacks in third place at 2-over 854. After starting slowly with a 6-over
290, the Wildcats carded a 5-under 279 in Monday afternoon’s second round
before finishing up with a 1-over 285.
In what has been a pretty decent fall for a Penn State team
that lost a lot of veteran talent, the Nittany Lions were just a shot behind
Kentucky in fourth place at 3-over 855. Penn State opened with rounds of
1-under 283 and 2-under 282 in Monday’s double round before struggling a little
in Tuesday’s final round with a 6-over 290.
Host Cincinnati was another four shots behind Penn State in
fifth place in the 13-team field with a 7-over 859 total. Cincinnati opened
with rounds of 3-over 287 and 4-over 288 in Monday’s double round before
matching par in the final round with a 284.
Louisville would have gone even lower if Keegan de Lange, a
redshirt senior from South Africa, had been included in the lineup. Competing
as an individual, de Lange finished in a tie for fourth at 5-under 208. He was
only a shot behind his teammate Murphy after two rounds as de Lange opened with
rounds of 3-under 68 and 5-under 66 in Monday’s double round. He backed off a
little in the final round with a 3-over 74.
The Cardinals’ Trevor Johnson, a senior from Brentwood,
Tenn., finished in the group tied for eighth place at 3-under 210. Johnson
opened with a sparkling 5-under 66 and added a 1-under 70 before closing with a
3-over 74.
Jiri Zuska, a sophomore from the Czech Republic, and Devin Morley,
a senior from Ireland, rounded out the Louisville lineup as both finished among
the group tied for 21st place at 3-over 216. Zuska finished strong,
carding a final round of 2-under 69, while Morley posted three consecutive
1-over 72s.
Illinois State’s David Perkins, a senior from East Peoria,
Ill., turned in an outstanding individual performance in finishing in third
place, three shots behind Louisville’s Schmid at 11-under 202. Perkins
sandwiched a 3-under 68 with a pair of 4-under 67s.
Sharing fourth-place with Louisville’s de Lange at 5-under
208 was Kentucky’s Allen Hamilton, a senior from Louisville, Ky. who opened
with a 4-under 67 and matched par in Monday afternoon’s second round with a 71
before closing with a 1-under 70.
Penn State’s Ryan Davis, a senior from Berkeley Heights,
N.J., shared sixth place in the individual standings with Arkansas’ William
Buhl, a senior from Fairhope, Ala. and one of the heroes of the Razorbacks’ run
to the SEC title last spring.
Davis, the 2018 Met Amateur champion, sandwiched a 2-under
69 with a pair of 1-under 70s. Buhl matched par in the opening round with a 71
and added a 1-under 70 in Monday afternoon’s second round before closing with a
3-under 68.
The Nittany Lions got a really strong showing from junior
Lukas Clark, a former Council Rock South standout who finished in the group
tied for eighth place at 3-under 210. After opening with a 2-over 73, Clark
fired a 4-under 67 before adding a 1-under 70 in the final round.
Davis’ fellow senior, Alec Bard of New Hartford, N.Y.,
finished among the group tied for 35th place at 5-over 218. Bard sparked
the Nittany Lions’ fast start as he opened with a 4-under 68 before adding a
1-over 72 in Monday’s double round. Bard struggled to a throw-out 78 in Tuesday’s
final round.
Junior Louis Olsakovsky, an Upper St. Clair product,
finished among the group tied for 49th place at 222. After posting
rounds of 72 and 74 in Monday’s double round, Olsakovsky struggled a little in
the final round with a 76.
The Bearcat Invitational marked the collegiate debut for
Patrick Sheehan, the District One Class AAA champion as a senior at Central
Bucks East last fall. Sheehan had rounds of 75 and 76 in Monday’s double round
before closing with a 3-over 74 that was a counter for the Nittany Lions.
Sheehan had a strong summer season, particularly on the Golf
Association of Philadelphia circuit. He won the title in the Jock MacKenzie
Memorial at Sandy Run Golf Club and was the runnerup to a red-hot Austin Barbin
in both the Junior Boys’ Championship at Coatesville Country and the Christman
Cup at The 1912 Club. All three events were part of the GAP Junior Series,
presented by Citadel. Sheehan also reached the second round of match play in
the BMW Philadelphia Amateur for the second straight year, this time at
Stonewall.
Penn State head coach Greg Nye also entered Ryan Lee, a
sophomore from Norwood, N.J., in the Bearcat Invitational as an individual and
Lee responded by finishing among the group tied for 29th place at
4-over 217. After opening with a 2-over 73, Lee posted a pair of 1-over 72s.
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