The Binghamton University men’s golf team entered the final day of play at the St. Bonaventure Keenan Invitational this past Monday leading the field of 13.

After the first round of play the Bearcats squad held a two-stroke lead over host school St. Bonaventure University; the second day would not treat the Bearcats as kindly.

Junior Jake Katz led the team shooting a 2-under-par 68 after the first 18 holes. When Sunday saw its end, Binghamton boasted a final team score of 288.

The team ended up shooting 13 strokes worse than the previous day, ending the tournament with a final team score of 589 and landing the squad in third place.

“In golf, you’re going to have good days and bad days,” said Binghamton head coach Bernie Herceg. “Day two just went in the wrong direction … we tried to come back but it was just one of those days.”

St. Bonaventure, totaling a team score of 297 on day two, would eventually surpass Binghamton on its home stage. They were overshadowed, however, by a Drexel University team who would go on to post a team score of 289 in the final round on its way to winning the tournament.

“We had a good opportunity to win it,” Herceg said. “It was a good tournament overall and definitely a learning experience.”

Although St. Bonaventure and Drexel would both finish on top of Binghamton, neither team had a player who would outperform Binghamton junior Jake Katz.

After his two-under-par showing on day one, Katz finished day two with a one-over-par 71. He ended the tournament with a total score of 139, landing him the second-best individual performance in the entire field. Rider University’s Eric LeFante would top Katz by one stroke.

This was also BU freshman David Cellura’s first tournament of his collegiate career. He shot a combined 150, earning him a 15th-place finish out of the 71-man field, tying him with teammate Andrew Marler. Cellura was shooting a one-under-par going into the last hole of the first round before he finished the round at 73.

Sophomore Mike Surdey followed his 11th-place finish from a 65-man field at the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate with a 26th-place finish at Keenan. Surdey did not play in a single tournament all of last year due to injury.

“It’s good to have him back,” Herceg said. “He’s a consistent player.”

A familiar face yet to tee off this fall is senior Mike Corbo.

“Mike’s a feel player and he’s still trying to get a feel for his game,” said Herceg. “He’s a great competitor and we need him.”

Binghamton is scheduled to play in the Cornell Invitational. The Bearcats won the Cornell University Tri-Match last year behind a first-place Jake Katz finish on this same course.

“[Katz] expects himself to go out there and win and the team as a whole has the same mindset,” said Herceg. “With his striking and his confidence Katz is going to have a good opportunity to be top-five, if not win.”

The tournament is scheduled for Sept. 26 and 27 and will be held at Cornell’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Course.