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Dorado, Puerto Rico
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Photo by: Samantha Blankenship (Ball State Creative Services)
Rain Washes Out Final Round at Dorado Beach; Cardinals Finish in Second Place, Bellar Fourth
February 26, 2024 | Men's Golf
Tuesday, Feb. 27, 8:00 a.m.: Rains washed out Tuesday's final round of the Dorado Beach Collegiate in Puerto Rico. Ball State finished as runners-up to tournament host and 42nd-ranked UNC Greensboro. Kash Bellar finished in fourth place, just three strokes behind the leader.
DORADO, Puerto Rico – Heading into Tuesday's final round of the 17-team Dorado Beach Collegiate golf invitational at TPC Dorado in San Juan, Ball State is in second place through 36 holes and Kash Bellar is in fourth place among 107 total participants.
Standing in fourth place after Sunday's first round, Ball State rose among the leaders with a program-record 16-under-par performance as a team, beating a -14 effort at last year's Butler Invitational and another -14 outing two years ago at Dorado Beach. The Cardinals (276-272—548) shot 12-under on Sunday and sit behind host and 42nd-ranked UNC Greensboro (539) who was just three strokes better than Ball State in round two.
Ball State's 272 team score Monday on the par-72 Dorado track was just one stroke off the lowest recorded score in program history – 271 in the 2005 Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational (par 70). Relative to par, this was the lowest round in school history.
At 28 strokes under par through two rounds, the Cardinals have also recorded the lowest 36-hole score, relative to par, in school history.
Individually, Bellar (68-65—133) carded a second-round 65 for the event's lowest round of the day. He was 4-under-par on Sunday and 7-under on Monday, leaving him three strokes behind tournament leader Chris Vandette (130) of Kent State. UNCG's Randall Hudson (131) is in second place after two rounds and West Virginia's Max Green (132) sits in third.
"We had a great day moving up the leaderboard on another very competitive day here at Dorado," said Ball State coach Mike Fleck who has born witness to each of those program records since he took over the Cardinals' program in 1998. "We went toe-to-toe with UNCG throughout the round producing the second lowest team round on another day where scoring conditions were ideal and scores were low."
Ali Khan (69-68—137) sits in 14th place overall after shooting 4-under on Monday, and Carter Smith (71-68—139) is in 23rd with his own round of 4-under. Freshman Alec Cesare (68-72—140), Sunday's Ball State star with eight birdies, cooled a bit on Monday with an even-par 72. Rounding out the Cardinals lineup, Braxton Kuntz (71-71—142) – who leads the tournament with 28 holes of par – was 1-under on Monday to leave him in 48th place.
Fleck added praise for his top three golfers today: "What can I say about Kash's round today? He was awesome! His 65 and Carter's and Ali's 68 led the way to the best team round in program history, relative to par. I'm very proud of our guys and we are excited for the opportunity to tee it up in the final pairing tomorrow."
Through 36 holes and two days of competition on the 7,112-yard Sugarcane Course, only Ball State, UNCG and Texas-San Antonio have all five golfers to score below par. Kent State (551) is in third place, three strokes behind Ball State, followed by UTSA (552) and West Virginia (552), both tied for fourth.
Ball State also has two individual golfers in the competition, with Griffin Hare (74-75—149) and Jensen Klondike (71-79—149) both tied in 90th place after 36 holes.
Kash Bellar: 33-35—68 | 32-33—65 (-11, 4th)
Ali Khan: 35-34—69 | 34-34—68 (-7, 14th)
Carter Smith: 35-36—71 | 34-34—68 (-5, 23rd)
Alec Cesare: 32-36—68 | 37-35—72 (-4, 28th)
Braxton Kuntz: 35-36—71 | 34-37—71 (-2, 48th)
***
Griffin Hare: 33-41—74 | 36-39—75 (+5, 90th)
Jensen Klondike: 35-36—71 | 40-38—78 (+5, 90th)
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DORADO, Puerto Rico – Heading into Tuesday's final round of the 17-team Dorado Beach Collegiate golf invitational at TPC Dorado in San Juan, Ball State is in second place through 36 holes and Kash Bellar is in fourth place among 107 total participants.
Standing in fourth place after Sunday's first round, Ball State rose among the leaders with a program-record 16-under-par performance as a team, beating a -14 effort at last year's Butler Invitational and another -14 outing two years ago at Dorado Beach. The Cardinals (276-272—548) shot 12-under on Sunday and sit behind host and 42nd-ranked UNC Greensboro (539) who was just three strokes better than Ball State in round two.
Ball State's 272 team score Monday on the par-72 Dorado track was just one stroke off the lowest recorded score in program history – 271 in the 2005 Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational (par 70). Relative to par, this was the lowest round in school history.
At 28 strokes under par through two rounds, the Cardinals have also recorded the lowest 36-hole score, relative to par, in school history.
Individually, Bellar (68-65—133) carded a second-round 65 for the event's lowest round of the day. He was 4-under-par on Sunday and 7-under on Monday, leaving him three strokes behind tournament leader Chris Vandette (130) of Kent State. UNCG's Randall Hudson (131) is in second place after two rounds and West Virginia's Max Green (132) sits in third.
"We had a great day moving up the leaderboard on another very competitive day here at Dorado," said Ball State coach Mike Fleck who has born witness to each of those program records since he took over the Cardinals' program in 1998. "We went toe-to-toe with UNCG throughout the round producing the second lowest team round on another day where scoring conditions were ideal and scores were low."
Ali Khan (69-68—137) sits in 14th place overall after shooting 4-under on Monday, and Carter Smith (71-68—139) is in 23rd with his own round of 4-under. Freshman Alec Cesare (68-72—140), Sunday's Ball State star with eight birdies, cooled a bit on Monday with an even-par 72. Rounding out the Cardinals lineup, Braxton Kuntz (71-71—142) – who leads the tournament with 28 holes of par – was 1-under on Monday to leave him in 48th place.
Fleck added praise for his top three golfers today: "What can I say about Kash's round today? He was awesome! His 65 and Carter's and Ali's 68 led the way to the best team round in program history, relative to par. I'm very proud of our guys and we are excited for the opportunity to tee it up in the final pairing tomorrow."
Through 36 holes and two days of competition on the 7,112-yard Sugarcane Course, only Ball State, UNCG and Texas-San Antonio have all five golfers to score below par. Kent State (551) is in third place, three strokes behind Ball State, followed by UTSA (552) and West Virginia (552), both tied for fourth.
Ball State also has two individual golfers in the competition, with Griffin Hare (74-75—149) and Jensen Klondike (71-79—149) both tied in 90th place after 36 holes.
Kash Bellar: 33-35—68 | 32-33—65 (-11, 4th)
Ali Khan: 35-34—69 | 34-34—68 (-7, 14th)
Carter Smith: 35-36—71 | 34-34—68 (-5, 23rd)
Alec Cesare: 32-36—68 | 37-35—72 (-4, 28th)
Braxton Kuntz: 35-36—71 | 34-37—71 (-2, 48th)
***
Griffin Hare: 33-41—74 | 36-39—75 (+5, 90th)
Jensen Klondike: 35-36—71 | 40-38—78 (+5, 90th)
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