Temple, Texas – Senior Andrew Bennett (Bossier City, La.) fired the lowest round by a Centenary men's golfer in the division III era (2011-present) on Monday to hold the individual lead after the opening round of the UMHB Men's Invitational hosted by the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor at Sammons Park Golf Course.
Live Results: https://www.gocentenary.com/admin/team/season/season.jsp?season_id=131vxyysx38pb0jg
The final round, consisting of 18 holes, at the par 70, 6,597-yard course begins on Tuesday at 9 a.m. Fans can watch live action of the tournament at www.cruathletics.com.
The Gents, led by Bennett and a 2-under par 68 from freshman Aubrey Snell (Shreveport, La.), shot a 4-over par 284 and are in a three-way tie for third place in an impressive start to their 2023-24 season. The University of Texas at Dallas is the team leader after round one as the Comets fired an 11-under par 269 and are nine shots ahead of second place Trinity University (2-under par 278).
The host Cru and UT-Dallas' "B" team are tied with the Gents in third, Belhaven University (6-over par 286) is sixth, UMHB's "B" team is seventh at 7-over par 287, East Texas Baptist University is eighth (12-over par 292), McMurry University is ninth (13-over par 293), University of St. Thomas is 10th (18-over par 298), Howard Payne University is 11th (20-over par 300), and Arlington Baptist University is 12th (43-over par 323).
Sophomore Jeffrey Borchert (Katy, Texas) and junior Tyler Jones (Stonewall, La.) each shot a 6-over par 76 and are tied for 44th place, and sophomore Hahn Bridges (Sterlington, La.) shot a 17-over par 87 and is in 72nd place. Borchert, who tied for 25th in this event last season in which he shot a career-low 70, picked up where he left off after tying for 19th place at the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships last spring. Jones' score is the lowest in his career as he aims for his fifth-career top-50 finish on Tuesday.
Bennett, coming off of an impressive junior campaign, is two shots ahead of a trio of golfers – Trinity's Jacob Mason and UT Dallas' Daniel Shofner and Davis Grindle, all at 4-under par 66. Four golfers are tied for fifth place at 3-under par 67, one shot ahead of the Gents' rookie Snell (2-under par 68).
Bennett is in pursuit of his first-career individual victory as he owns one runner-up, a pair of top five finishes, and six top-10 finishes in his career. He finished in a three-way tie for sixth at 6-over par 222 at the conference championships last season to earn Second-Team All-SCAC honors. He aims to become the first Gent to win an individual title since Richard Polan at the 2022 Rhodes Spring Classic.
Centenary wraps up its fall season in the UHV Fall Classic hosted by University of Houston-Victoria Oct. 16-17 in Victoria, Texas.
See the Gents' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mgolf/2023-24/schedule
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