MESQUITE, Nev. – If freshman
Ben Davenport had any debut jitters going into his collegiate debut, it certainly did not show. The Bowling Green native finished at minus-2 after three rounds of play at the Mesquite Desert Invitational on Tuesday.
In fact, Davenport birdied his first three holes en route to an even-par 72 in the first round. In the second round, he chipped in his first career eagle on the 507-yard par 5 second hole. He added six birdies as he went on to record his first career round under par at minus-1. In Tuesday's final round, he added four more birdies and finished at minus-1 once again. He totaled 14 birdies in his debut.
The 17
th hole gave Davenport the most trouble. He bogeyed the 458-yard par 4 all three days, including a quadruple in the second round, but maintained enough poise to tie for 13
th overall in the field of 64 players. It is the best debut rank by a Knight since February 21, 2023 when
Kash Albarado finished eighth in a field of 91 at even par in the Mickey Mouse Intercollegiate.
Luke Bischoff was the only other Knight to finish in the top half of the field, tying for 29
th at plus-3. Like Davenport, he also eagled the second hole, but did so in the first round. He carded nine birdies at the event.
As a team, the Knights finished tied for 10
th in the field of 12 at plus-18.
Utah Valley took home the team medal at minus-21, three shots ahead of host Eastern Kentucky. The Wolverines' Dane Huddleston took home medalist honors at minus-14, two shots better than EKU's Anders Larson.
COMPLETE BELLARMINE RESULTS:
2/16-18/2025 -- Mesquite Desert Classic
CasaBlanca Golf Club -- Mesquite, NV
Par 72, 7010 yards -- 12 teams, 64 players
COMPLETE TOURNAMENT RESULTS
It will be a quick turnaround for the Knights as they head to another event hosted by Eastern Kentucky, the World Golf Village Collegiate in St. Augustine, Fla., and begin play in the two-day event on Monday.
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