Binghamton University put together another consistent outing of golf this weekend, rounding out the fall season with one of its most impressive performances to date. The Bearcats won the Lincoln Mercury Intercollegiate tournament played at Fiddler’s Elbow Country Club in Bedminster, N.J. on Sunday, notching their second overall team win of the season to go along with their previous victory at the Cornell Invitational. Binghamton finished the tournament 11-over-par over the two rounds of play for an overall score of 587, but the over-par performance was enough to edge out the 18-team field for a solid victory.
‘It was excellent,’ head coach Bernie Herceg said of his team’s performance. ‘We were going in there to give it our best and the guys were able to pull it off.’
At the end of the first day of play, Binghamton was trailing Temple University by two strokes after gusty winds troubled all of the golfers on the course. However, BU fought back on the second day, posting a 1-over-par round of 289, the lowest team total in a single round over the course of the entire tournament. This was enough to take the lead from Temple and to win the tournament outright by five strokes.
‘The first day was tough because of the wind, but we were able to finish with a strong score,’ Herceg said. ‘The second day was better and I knew that if we played to our potential we would have a chance at winning the event.’
Once again, senior co-captain Jake Katz put on the single best performance for BU. Katz shot 70-73 for the two rounds, finishing the tournament 1-under-par for an overall score of 143. This was good enough for a tie for second place, the ninth runner-up finish of his career, finishing only two shots behind the overall leader. Katz’s rock-solid performance this season has lifted BU in every tournament that they have played, with the team finishing in the top 10 in every event thus far. He is coming off back-to-back America Sky Golfer of the Week awards, and it is likely that he will continue to receive this recognition if he continues to play at such a high level.
‘To be able to play so well at this level is phenomenal,’ Herceg said of Katz. ‘I really look forward to watching him play and to have him be as solid as he has been for us gives us a chance to win every event.’
Freshman Bryce Edmister and junior Mike Surdey also finished in the top 10 overall for BU, with both finishing tied for sixth in the individual standings. Edmister, who is coming off a personal best single-round performance last week at the Philadelphia Big 5 Invitational, tallied scores of 75 and 72 over the two rounds of play to finish 3-over-par for the tournament. Surdey’s performance was equally impressive, earning his first top 10 finish of the season with scores of 77-70.
‘Bryce’s game has been coming around and [he] has been playing much more consistent week-in and week-out,’ Herceg said. ‘Mike’s 2-under-par on Sunday was a great score, too, and it really helped us get the victory.’
This strong performance wraps up the 2010 fall season for the Bearcats. They come back for the spring season in 2011 with the C&F Bank Intercollegiate tournament on March 21.