APALACHIN, N.Y. – Just one day after the Binghamton golf team tied two of its program records,
Brandon Conner followed suit by tying two records to help both himself and the Bearcats finish second at the Matthews Auto Collegiate Golf Invitational Monday at The Links at Hiawatha Landing.
Conner shot 66/6-under par Monday, tying the program's lowest individual score in a round. It is the same record that his teammate,
Sean Shen, matched during Sunday's opening round. By finishing the tournament at 71-66 = 137/7-under par, Conner also tied his own program record for the lowest score in 36 holes. The senior previously shot 7-under par at the 2023 Matthews Auto Collegiate Golf Invitational, where he also finished in second place.
"I just somehow found my way to get close to every hole," said Conner. "I was not really driving well off the tee, but somehow found a way to get close and made a bunch of putts today. I thought it was great."
Conner and Shen's single-round record-low scores sit atop the program rankings along with both Jake Katz and Gray Potter. Katz shot 6-under par in the 2010 Lafayette Invitational, while Potter shot that same score in the 2015 Missouri Invitational.
This is Conner's second top-five finish this season. He previously finished at the Blue Hen Intercollegiate on Sept. 16, a tournament that Binghamton also placed second as a team. Conner has three top-finishes throughout his collegiate career to go along with winning the 2024 Lehigh Invitational.
Binghamton has finished second at its home event in each of the last three years. The Bearcats ended up with an overall score of 277-286 = 563/13-under par. That is the second-lowest score relative to par the Bearcats have put up for 36 holes in program history. It is one stroke behind the record of 14-under par that Binghamton shot to win the 2018 Matthews Auto Intercollegiate.
Shen, who entered the final round in second place, shot 76/4-over par on Monday to finish the event tied for 11th at 66-76 = 142/2-under par, his lowest score for a 36-hole tournament. Also tied for 11th is
Harrison Blech, who finished at 69-73 = 142/2-under par. That matches his lowest 36-hole score from the 2024 Matthews Auto Collegiate Golf Invitational, where he finished tied for seventh.
Jack Tebeau just missed out on a top 20 finish in his first Matthews Auto Collegiate Golf Invitational. The freshman shot 71-74 = 145/1-over par in what was his fourth collegiate tournament.
Iona won the team title at 275-286 = 561/15-under par. Sahir Balyan took medalist honors for the Gaels by shooting 65-70 = 135/9-under par.
Binghamton wraps up its fall season by competing at Holy Cross' Crusader Invitational from Oct. 20-21 at Worcester Country Club in Worcester, Mass.
Matthews Auto is the presenting sponsor of Bearcats Golf.
