AKRON, Ohio - Hilltopper junior Brandon Beckham finished with a two-over 218 (68-76-74) and tallied a 10th place finish as the WKU men's golf team finished in 12th place on Tuesday at the Firestone Invitational, hosted by Akron.
The Hilltoppers tallied their third lowest round of the fall on Tuesday, a five-over 293, and finished with a 33-over 897 (296-308-293), just 13 strokes away from a top-five finish in a closely contested, tightly grouped field. USC Aiken won the event with a 12-over 876 while Xavier's Jose Montano took individual medalist honors with a four-under 212 (69-72-71).
WKU also finished ahead of their lone Conference USA member school in the event, Old Dominion, who finished in 13th.
"We got great play today from Austin King and Conor Griffiths, both shooting even par," said head coach Phillip Hatchett. "The other three shot 75 or under and it was just another step in the right direction for this program. We left a lot of shots out there, but we're continuing to improve and look forward to our tournament next week at home."
Senior Conor Griffiths shot an eight-over 224 (76-76-72) to finish tied for 40th while junior Austin King tied for 47th with a 10-over 226 (75-79-72). Junior Trey Aguirre carded a 13-over 229 (77-77-75) to finished tied for 59th while senior Cameron Beal closed out the card in 86th place with a 22-over 238 (81-82-75).
The Hilltoppers return home next week when they host the Kenny Perry/WKU Invitational at Olde Stone in Bowling Green. Live scoring and tee time information for the event will be announced later this week.
To stay up-to-date with the Hilltoppers, follow the team on Twitter at @WKUMensGolf.
