BROWNS SUMMIT, N.C. – The Wofford men's golf team opened its campaign in the Bryan National Collegiate this weekend, placing second with a team score of 864, just a stroke over par at the Bryan Park Golf Course.
Ben Jordan paced the Terriers with his 5-under 211 as part of a trio in the top 15 for Wofford.
The two-day event was impacted by weather, which suspended the second round midway through play on Saturday. The second round resumed on Sunday with the final round immediately following.
"I think we have a lot to be proud of coming away from a runner-up in the first event of the season," said head coach
Todd Eckstein. "There were a lot of individual highlights. Ben (Jordan)'s 65 was stellar, and
Andrew Neal started his college career off strong. Most of all, we kept it together when we didn't have our best stuff the last afternoon. I'm excited to see us keep going this upcoming weekend at the JT Poston (Invitational)."
The Terriers opened strong with a seven-under 281 in the opening round, finishing just two strokes behind Wake Forest for the lead through the first 18 holes. The following two rounds saw Wofford record 291 and 293 to hold firm in second place, securing a runner-up result for the first time since April of 2021 in the Wofford Invitational. With a fifth-place finish in the penultimate event of last season (Stitch Intercollegiate), the Terriers have placed top five in two of their last three events. With an 840 score at a whopping 24-under par, Wake Forest ran away with the team title by 25 strokes in the 14-team field, hosted by UNCG. Notable teams finishing behind Wofford were the fellow SoCon members UNCG and Samford alongside ACC foe Boston College. The Terriers owned the second-most birdies in the event with 51, just seven behind Wake Forest.
Ben Jordan was the top Terrier finisher, posting a 5-under 211 score to place seventh in the 87-player field. Jordan carded a 65 in the opening round to lead the event through 18 holes. It was not just a career low, but it was also tied for the third-lowest round score in program history and the lowest score by a Terrier since
Marshall Butler's 65 in the Wofford Invitational in 2024. Following with rounds of 74 and 72, Jordan would slide to seventh on the leaderboard for his fifth-career top 10. Jordan tied for the best par-4 average in the event with a 3.93, and his 3.00 par-3 average was tied for third best. With 14 birdies, he just three shy of the event leader.
Nicholas Prieto of Wake Forest won the event by two strokes with a 203 score at 13-under par.
Freshman
Andrew Neal tied for 13
th in his collegiate debut, recording a 218 at 2-over par. In his first round as a Division I golfer, Neal carded a 68 to sit in a tie for fourth through the opening 18. Despite following with rounds of 73 and 77, he secured the first top 20 of his career. With 13 birdies, Neal was only four off of the leader.
Charles Warren joined Neal in a tie for 13
th. Warren posted a 75 in the opening round, but he finished strong with a subsequent 70 and 73 to move up three spots in the final 18 holes.
Will Brown placed 26
th with his 222 score after carding rounds of 73-74-75. Brown recorded 36 pars, ninth most in the field. Rounding out the Terrier lineup was
Will Jones in 33
rd. He carded a 224 with rounds of 75-76-73.
Major Lenning competed as an individual in the event, tying Jones for 33
rd. After rounds of 78 and 74 to open, Lenning shot a 72 in the last round to move up 15 spots on the leaderboard.
Wofford will be back in action a week from today in the JT Poston Invitational, hosted by Western Carolina. The three-day tournament begins on Sunday, September 14 in Waynesville, North Carolina.
