HUNTINGTON, W.V. — Bellarmine men's golf continued its hot start to the season, winning its second team title of the year behind a pair of top five finishes from
Ben Wulkopf and
Ben Davenport at the Joe Feaganes Invitational at Guyan Golf and Country Club.
Hosted by Marshall, the tournament featured 14 teams and 92 total players. After playing the first two rounds on day one of the event, the Knights found themselves in a good position, sitting in a tie for fifth place at eight-under par. Midway through the third round, Bellarmine's solid play held them at the top as other teams faltered, putting them three shots out of the top spot. Ultimately, the Knights came away with an exciting win with a score of -13 (839), edging out Purdue Fort Wayne by one shot.
Bellarmine's team scores of 280-280-279 (839, -13) are some of the lowest in program history. The third round 279 is the fifth lowest 18-hole score in program history with the pair of 280s coming in for a tie for sixth lowest. The team's 839, -13 54-hole score is the second lowest in program history.
The win marks the team's second of the year, coming just two weeks after opening the fall with a win at the Chaney-Denham-Landrum Shootout. The wins are the first two team wins for Bellarmine in the Division I era.
For the Knights,
Ben Wulkopf led the way with three straight rounds under par. The redshirt junior turned in scores of 67-69-69 to finish in a tied for second at -6. His opening round 67 is a new collegiate career-low while his T2 finish is not only his best finish as a Knight but his first career Top 5 or Top 10 finish. His 54-hole score of 205 is the second lowest by a Bellarmine men's golfer in program history. Wulkopf finished the event tied for first in par 4 scoring average at 3.79, going seven-under on par 4s across all three rounds. He carded 38 pars, good for a tie for fifth most.
Joining Wulkopf in the top five was fellow Knight
Ben Davenport. After an even par opening round, Davenport fired back-to-back rounds of 68, including a bogey free final round, to finish at -6 for the event and finish in a tie for fourth. It's his second top five finish of the season and second of his career. His 54-hole score of 207 is tied for third lowest in program history. Davenport finished the event tied for sixth in par 4 scoring average at 3.85, going five-under on par 4s across all three rounds. He tallied 40 pars, tied for most by any player.
Wulkopf and Davenport shared a tie for fewest bogeys in the field, each carding four. Neither player scored higher than a bogey in 54 holes.
Max Terrell was impressive for Bellarmine as well, finishing one-under par, good for a share of 21
st place in the event. Terrell opened the tournament with sub-par rounds of 69-70 before he fought through a final round 73.
As a team, Bellarmine ranked third in scoring on both par 3s and par 4s, coming in with a 3.15 (+9) and 4.01 (+2) scoring average, respectively. The Knights carded 182 pars as a team, the most in the tournament, while only scoring 40 bogeys (third fewest) and just four double bogeys (fewest). BU's 45 birdies ranked 10
th in the field.
Morehead State's Remy Stalcup claimed individual medalist honors at -10 thanks to rounds of 68-68-67.
Complete Bellarmine Results:
9/14-15/26 — Joe Feaganes Invitational
Guyan GCC — Huntington, WV
Par 71, 6523 — 14 teams, 92 players
Bellarmine 280 280 279 839 -13 1st
Max Terrell 69 70 73 212 -1 T21st
Ben Davenport 71 68 68 207 -6 T4th
Brayden Carlisle 75 73 75 223 +10 T76th
Landon Stillwell 73 77 69 219 +6 T53rd
Ben Wulkopf 67 69 69 205 -8 T2
Graydon Laughlin# 69 72 84 225 +12 83rd
# Indicates individual player
Bellarmine will take a week off before returning to the course for the Derek Dolenc Invitational, hosted by SIUE, September 28-29 at Gateway National Golf Club in Madison, IL.
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