Central Arkansas men’s golf ends fourth at GMAC Invitational in Alabama

Cohen Kinnard saved his best golf for the last day in Birmingham, Alabama.

The sophomore carded a 3-under round Tuesday. It pushed him to 4-under for the week and a tie for fifth place.

That’s a good spot to be in a field of 75 golfers.

His steady play helped Central Arkansas men’s golf grab a fourth-place finish at the GMAC Invitational.

The event wrapped up at Inverness Country Club after three rounds of stroke play.

UCA closed at 7-over par for the tournament.

UAB took the team title at 16-under.

A busy September keeps rolling

This wasn’t a one-off road trip. It marked the third straight week of tournament golf for the Bears.

Thirteen teams showed up in Birmingham. Each round was 18 holes, with play running Sunday through Tuesday.

Kinnard’s path into the top five wasn’t flashy. He opened at 1-under and followed with an even-par round Monday.

Then came the 3-under finish that moved him up the board.

Junior Blane Burk had the hottest start on the roster. He fired a 3-under round Sunday.

Monday wasn’t as kind. Burk went 4-over, then shot 2-over Tuesday to finish at 3-over.

Freshmen take their lumps and swing back

UCA leaned on three freshmen in the lineup.

Sam Norman opened at even par. A 7-over second round hurt, but he bounced back with a 1-under finish. He ended the week at 6-over.

Vukasin Suturovic went the other direction. He started at 6-over and got better each day. He shot 3-over Monday and 2-under Tuesday to land at 7-over.

Leopold Isserentant posted rounds of 1-over, 7-over and 4-over. That put him at 12-over.

The scorecards weren’t perfect. But the numbers underneath told a solid story.

The Bears made 182 pars. Nobody else in the field made more.

They also piled up 32 birdies and three eagles. That eagle total tied for the most in the event.

Ahead of two league rivals

Two other United Athletic Conference teams were in the field.

Austin Peay finished at 12-over.

West Georgia had a rougher trip at 43-over.

So UCA came home ahead of both conference foes. That’s never a bad thing to pack for the ride back.

The Bears were under par in two of their three rounds.

Anyone who wants hole-by-hole numbers can check the full tournament scoreboard.

Next stop is Jonesboro

UCA won’t play again for a couple of weeks.

The Bears return to action Oct. 12-13 at the Bubba Barnett Intercollegiate.

That event is set for Ridgepoint Country Club in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Kinnard will try to carry his Tuesday form into that week.