The Binghamton University golf team finished in 10th place out of 13 teams last weekend at the Hartford Hawks Invitational in Bolton, Mass. Several rounds in the 80s hindered the Bearcats’ chances of winning the tournament against much fiercer competition than they had ever seen before, although good play from senior captain Zach Vinal and from their rookies leaves the team hoping for better results next week in Utah.

Vinal led the Bearcats by finishing tied for 10th individually out of 67 players with a final score of 221, shooting impressive rounds of 74, 75 and 72, respectfully. Freshman Jake Katz shot 231 to tie for 33rd place, freshman Michael Surdey shot 234 to tie for 44th place in his NCAA debut, sophomore Patrick Donovan shot 240 to tie for 59th place and senior co-captain Ryan Gabel shot 248 to tie for 65th place.

‘This course, second to Yale, was probably the longest and hardest course I have ever played on,’ Vinal said. ‘Every part of it was so penal, and the rainy, miserable playing conditions made it so that even par was considered a great score.’

After playing exceptionally well in their season opener in Mid Pines, N.C., the Bearcats struggled last weekend with consistency, with six out of the 18 total rounds played by the Bearcats 75 or better and seven of those rounds ending with scores in the 80s.

‘I just think this is an indication that some of our guys simply have to play better and get more consistent with their skill level,’ head coach Nick Lasky said.

Vinal, as the team’s No. 1 player, continued his excellent play to lead the Bearcats last weekend, even though he three putted the last hole in his third round to finish even par for the day. Katz, in just his second career tournament, started off with an 82 but recovered nicely to shoot two more rounds of 77 and 75. Lasky is extremely optimistic about the bright young future of Katz.

‘Jake is a phenomenal talent, extremely competitive, team oriented and a tremendous kid and I couldn’t be happier with his performance thus far,’ Lasky said. ‘He is very personable and he is an excellent player to have on the team with us.’

Surdey, the Bearcats’ second top prospect, made his career debut last weekend by scoring better in each of the three rounds as the tournament went on. His first round 82 was largely because of two triple bogeys in a row on two consecutive par 5’s due to two off-line tee shots that found awful places in the deep rough, with one being a lost ball and the other followed by attempted recovery shots that backfired on him.

‘Overall he had a good tournament, but he just had that one round that got away from him,’ Lasky said. ‘Younger players have a tendency to have that happen and as he matures into college golf more, he’ll learn how to keep that from happening. But he gained a lot of experience and showed a lot of determination by staying strong and recovering with two pretty good rounds.’

Katz and Surdey are both extremely competitive and talented young golfers. Katz has the confidence and the ability to hit shots that other players simply cannot hit because of his ball-striking ability, which creates low scores in the 70s. Surdey, doesn’t hit the ball that far but won a starting job because of his ability to keep the ball in play by consistently hitting fairways and greens and by making clutch putts and getting pars. He was never a very flashy player, but he made tremendous strides in his short game by working with Vinal and he gets the job done.

As for Donovan, Shearer and Gabel, the Bearcats will need them to play better golf down the stretch if they hope to get to the playoffs this year. With the improved depth of this team due to great play from Katz, Surdey, freshman Andrew Marler, sophomore Mike Corbo and senior Brian Golkiewicz, the starting lineups are subject to change every week.

‘Donovan and Gabel both hit the ball very well, but the course was just very penal and really got to them,’ Lasky said. ‘They are better players than that and really need to step up and show that in the next few weeks.’