Ford's runnerup finish helps Cincinnati hold off Duke in a shootout at the Dorado Beach Collegiate

   Cincinnati, picking up right where it left off in a strong fall portion of the wraparound 2022-2023 season, opened its spring campaign with an eight-shot victory in the Dorado Beach Collegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday at TPC Dorado Beach’s Sugarcane Course in Dorado, Puerto Rico.

   Behind a runnerup finish in the individual standings from Ryan Ford, a freshman from Westfield, Ind., the Bearcats, out of the American Athletic Conference, were strong from start to finish in putting together a 44-under-par 820 total over the 7,112-yard, par-72 Sugarcane Course layout.

   Cincinnati’s opening round of 13-under 275 left it two shots behind North Carolina Greensboro, but the Bearcats took control with a sizzling 29-under 269 in Monday’s second round before holding off Atlantic Coast Conference power Duke with a final round of 12-under 276.

   The victory enabled the Bearcats, ranked 39^th when they arrived in Puerto Rico, to climb into the top 25 in the latest Golfstat rankings at No. 25.

   Ford provided the spark for Cincinnati in the opening round as he carded a sparkling 7-under 65. He added back-to-back 4-under 68s in the final two rounds for a 15-under 201 total that left him two shots behind the individual champion, Duke’s William Love, a freshman from Atlanta, Ga. who was competing as an individual.

   I suspect Love will be in the starting lineup in Duke’s next outing after he set program and freshman records for the Blue Devils. After opening with a 1-under 71, Ford ripped off a scintillating 9-under 63 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 7-under 65 for a 17-under 199 total.

   Ford set program and freshman records in relation to par and he is the first Duke freshman to post a sub-200 score for a 54-hole tournament. His 197 total is the second-lowest in program history.

   Duke only trailed Cincinnati by four shots going into Tuesday’s final round as the Blue Devils did Cincinnati one better in Monday’s second round with a spectacular 20-under 268 after opening with an 8-under 280. Duke added another 8-under 280 in the final round, but couldn’t quite catch the front-running Bearcats as it finished with a 36-under 828 total.

   Duke maintained its No. 31 spot in the Golfstat rankings with its showing in the Dorado Beach.

   Pacing the Duke lineup was Ian Siebers, a junior from Bellevue, Wash. who finished a shot behind Cincinnati’s Ford in third place in the individual standings with a 14-under 202 total. After opening with a sparkling 6-under 66, Siebers registered back-to-back 4-under 68s in the final two rounds.

   UNCG, coming off a runnerup finish to Drexel in the Advance Golf Partners Collegiate a couple of weeks ago, grabbed the lead with an opening round of 15-under 273, but backed off a little with a 5-under 283 in Monday’s second round. Not sure if the setup was a little easier or the conditions were more favorable, but there were some low numbers being posted in that second round.

   The Spartans, out of the Southern Conference, closed with a solid 11-under 277 for a 31-under 833 total, finishing ahead of some pretty good teams. UNCG, with two strong showings in the early going of its spring campaign, was ranked No. 49 in the aftermath of the Dorado Beach Collegiate.

   Augusta, UNCG’s Southern Conference rival, was another four shots behind the Spartans in fourth place with a 27-under 837 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 288, the Jaguars recorded a 15-under 273 in Monday’s second round before closing with a solid 12-under 276 that matched Cincinnati for the low round in Tuesday’s final round.

   Virginia, an ACC rival of Duke’s, was opening the spring portion of its schedule and the Cavaliers showed a little rust, finishing five shots behind Augusta in fifth place with a 22-under 842 total. After opening with an 8-under 280, Virginia added a 4-under 284 in Monday’s second round before closing with a solid 10-under 278.

   Coming off a strong fall campaign, Virginia came to Dorado Beach ranked 12^th, but fell back to No. 15 in the Golfstat rankings after finishing in fifth place.

   It’s been a choppy start to the spring campaign for Southeastern Conference power Auburn, which brought a gaudy No. 2 ranking to Dorado Beach.

   The Tigers were supposed to open their spring campaign at the Amer Ari Invitational in Hawaii, but there was trouble in paradise with wicked weather forcing the event to be cancelled. Auburn did sneak in a dual match with Pac-12 power Washington before the Tigers left Hawaii.

   Three Auburn individuals teed it up in The Prestige at The Club at Terra Lago in Indio, Calif., but the Dorado Beach had to feel a little like the spring debut for the full team.

   The Tigers struggled a little in the Dorado Beach Collegiate, finishing five shots behind Virginia in sixth place with a 17-under 847 total. After opening with a 3-under 285, Auburn carded an 8-under 280 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 6-under 282. Auburn fell back to No. 7 when the updated Golfstat rankings came out following the Dorado Beach.

   Drexel couldn’t carry over any momentum from its bustout victory in the Advance Golf Partners Collegiate in its spring opener at the Hammock Beach Golf Club in Palm City, Fla. as the Dragons finished in 11^th place in the 18-team field with a 3-under 861 total.

   Drexel, out of the Colonial Athletic Association, bounced back from an opening round of 2-over 290 with a solid 8-under 280 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 291. Still, playing against a big field with some top-notch programs in Puerto Rico in February just might pay dividends later in the spring.

   Backing up Ford for Cincinnati was Sam Jean, a senior from Greenwood, Ind. who was part of a trio of players tied for eighth place with a 10-under 206 total. Jean added a 3-under 69 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 70 and was the low Bearcat in the final round, contributing a crucial 5-under 67 as Cincinnati was trying to hold off Duke.

   Ty Gingerich, a junior from Russiaville, Ind., and William McDonald, a redshirt junior from Oklahoma City, Okla., both landed in a large group tied for 16^th place at 7-under 209 for Cincinnati.

   After opening with a 2-under 70, Gingerich contributed a sparkling 7-under 65 to the Bearcats’ second-round surge before finishing up with a 2-over 74. After opening with a 2-under 70, McDonald also got on a roll in Monday’s second round with a 5-under 67 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Rounding out the Cincinnati lineup was Rylan Wotherspoon, a freshman from Florence, Ky. who finished among the group tied for 24^th place with a 5-under 211 total. Wotherspoon also opened with a 2-under 70 and matched par in Monday’s second round with a 72 before finishing up with a big counting number of 3-under 69.

   Heading a group of three players tied for fourth place in the individual standings, two shots behind Duke’s Siebers at 12-under 204, was Virginia’s Ben James, a freshman phenom from Milford, Conn. and No. 21 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

   James, coming off a stellar junior career on the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circuit, burst on the college scene with a pair of individual victories in the fall portion of the Cavaliers’ schedule

   Like the other two players in the trio at 12-under, James had three rounds in the 60s over the Sugarcane layout, adding a 4-under 68 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 69 before finishing up with a 5-under 67.

   James was one of the players who was invited to participate in a practice session for candidates for the U.S. Walker Cup team in December in the Jupiter, Fla. area. Being on a U.S. Walker Cup team is a big deal in any year, but with the 49^th edition being staged in September at the Old Course at St. Andrews, there’s some added incentive to make the U.S. side in 2023.

   Joining James at 12-under were Siebers’ Duke teammate, Ethan Evans, a freshman from Mercer Island, Wash., and Ball State’s Kash Bellar, a sophomore from Peru, Ind.

   Evans contributed a 6-under 66 to Duke’s second-round surge in between a pair of 3-under 69s in the first and final rounds. After opening with a 4-under 68, Bellar added a 69 in Monday’s second round before closing with his best round of the tournament, a 5-under 67.

   UNCG’s Symon Balbin, a senior from Pinehurst, N.C., finished alone in seventh place with an 11-under 205 total. Balbin had a share of the individual lead going into the final round after adding a sparkling 6-under 66 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 67 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Joining Cincinnasti’s Jean in the trio tied for eighth place at 10-under were Augusta’s Behn Heyns, a freshman from South Africa, and Auburn’s J.M. Butler, a junior from Louisville, Ky. who was competing as an individual.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Heyns carded back-to-back 5-under 67s. Butler will probably get a closer look for a spot in Auburn’s starting lineup after he added back-to-back 4-under 68s in the final two rounds to his opening-round 70.

   One of the members of that Auburn first five was junior Carson Bacha, who capped an outstanding scholastic career at Central York by claiming the PIAA Class AAA Championship in 2019 at the Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York County.

   Bacha, No. 94 in the WAGR, had an outstanding sophomore season for the Tigers. He was their highest individual finisher, ending up in a tie for 20^th place, in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. Auburn made it to the final day of qualifying for match play at Grayhawk, finishing in a tie for 10^th place, just seven shots out of a spot in the match-play bracket.

   Bacha finished in the group tied for 37^th place at Dorado Beach with a 1-under 215 total as he added a 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round to his opening round of 1-over 73 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Leading the way for Drexel was Drue Nicholas, a junior from Egg Harbor Township, N.J. who joined Auburn’s Bacha in the group tied for 37^th place at 1-under. Nicholas, coming off a tie for second place in the Advance Golf Partners, added a 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 71 before finishing up with a 2-over 74.

   A pair of Drexel juniors, Griffin Mitchell of New Albany, Ohio and Tafadzwa Nyamukondiwa of Zimbabwe, both landed in the group tied for 44^th place with even-par 216 totals.

   Mitchell got off to a great start with an opening round of 5-under 67 followed by a solid 2-under 70 in Monday’s second round, but struggled to a 79 in the final round. After opening with a 3-over 75, Nyamukondiwa was solid with a 1-under 71 in Monday’s second round and a final round of 2-under 70.

   Brockton English, a sophomore from Shelby Township, Mich., bounced back from an opening-round 78 with back-to-back 1-under 71s in the final two rounds to finish in the group tied for 63^rd place 4-over 220.

   Rounding out the Drexel lineup was Oscar Maxfield, a graduate student from Salt Lake City, Utah who transferred to Drexel from Utah. Maxfield got it going in Monday’s second round with a 3-under 69, but struggled in the opening round with a 77 and again had trouble solving the Sugarcane Course in the final round with a 4-over 76 as he finished among the group tied for 68^th place with a 6-over 222 total.

   Senior Liam Hart, who captured the PIAA Class AAA Championship as a junior at Holy Ghost Prep in 2017, competed as an individual for Drexel at Dorado Beach. Hart added a 4-over 76 in Monday’s second round to his opening-round 75, but finished up strong with a 4-under 68 in the final round that left him in the group tied for 57^th place with a 3-over 219 total.