USAF Academy, Colo. – The Wofford men's golf team opened its fall slate with a fifth-place finish in the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational over the weekend, hosted by the United States Air Force Academy. The Terriers compiled a 4-over par score in the 54-hole event for the top-five result. At 3-under par, Matthew Larkin topped the Terriers to finish tied for ninth. In the individual event, Wofford was represented twice in the top-10 as Ben Jordan (-4) tied for fifth while Cedric Otten (-3) tied for seventh.
 
Larkin finished with a score of 213 at 3-under par, the only Terrier to finish below. Tied for ninth, it is the senior's fifth-career top-10 placement. He was one of two Terriers with double-digit birdies in the event, totaling 11 to trail only Max Cranford's 13.
 
As a team, Wofford amassed 48 birdies, sixth-most in the 24-team field. In fifth place, Wofford finished better than 19 squads, including a Power Five team in Boston College (tied for 10^th). All four of the teams to finish better than the Terriers finished under par, the only such schools in the tournament to do so. Colorado State ran away with the crown with a 30-under par performance, scoring 834. Colorado was second, scoring 859 at 5-under.
 
The fifth-place finish is Wofford's first top-five result since winning the Wofford Invitational earlier this year in April. With a sixth-place finish in the SoCon Championship in the spring, Wofford has finished no worse than sixth in its past three events.
 
The Terriers steadily improved over the course of the event, finishing the first round with a 295 mark tied in 13^th. Wofford moved up to eighth after round two with a 288 showing before utilizing a final-day 285 to move into fifth place.
 
With his 13 birdies, Cranford finished tied for 28^th for a score of 217, 1-over par. Despite a first-round 77, the freshman settled in to score 71 and 69 in the final two rounds to pull himself up from a 43^rd-place tie to his ultimate finish, 15 spots better. In addition to his birdies, Cranford was the lone Terrier to tally an eagle in the event.
 
Harry Jones (+4) scored 220 to finish tied for 36^th. Walker Jones (+8) tied for 54^th with a 224 score, and Jackson Hill (+13) rounded out the field for Wofford in the team event with a 229 score.
 
Four Terriers competed as individuals, with two displaying strong showings. Ben Jordan opened tied for fourth after a 69 in round one. Though slipping down a spot into a fifth-place tie to conclude the event, the freshman picked up his first top-five finish with a 4-under par 212.
 
Joining Jordan in the top-10 is Cedric Otten, whose 213 mark gave him a 3-under score. Tied for seventh, it is Otten's third-career top-10 finish.
 
Also competing in the individual event were Jay Beach and Will Jones, who both finished tied for 27^th. The pair each scored 223 to finish 7-over par.
 
Wofford is back in action at the JT Poston Invitational from Monday, Sept. 26 to Tuesday, Sept. 27. The two-day event is hosted by fellow SoCon member Western Carolina in Cullowhee, N.C.