GAFFNEY, S.C. - In their first tournament of the 2026 calendar year, the University of Pikeville men's golf took first place in the Pioneers Invitational hosted by Spartanburg Methodist College.  

The course was 6,964 yards, a par-72, and was a two-round tournament. Kaeden Anderson had UPike's highest finish, shooting +2 and coming in second place. Anderson finished round two –1, highlighted by birdies on holes one, fifteen, and seventeen.  

Jon Bryant finished one stroke behind Anderson and finished tied for third. Bryant birdied five times during round two, shaving nine strokes from round one. In the advanced stats, Bryant was tied for second-best in par four scoring average with 4.10.  

Lawson Hon finished tied for 17th. Hon shot a 77 in round one and an 81 in round two. Eli Shope improved his score by five strokes from round one to round two. Shope had three birdies in round two and finished tied for 21st.  

Cameron Bergman rounded out the varsity team scores with a 80 in round one and a 84 in round two. Harley Davidson, Saul Crist, and Clayton Compton also competed, and all improved their scores from round one to round two. Compton led the improvement by shaving seven strokes off his round one numbers.  

As a team, the Bears shot +32, eight ahead of the hosts, and finished first place in a field of 15 teams. UPike also led the tournament in par four scoring, averaging 4.32 strokes per par four. The Bears also shot even in par fives as a team. 

Coach Dustyn Reinstetle's team will be back in action on March 23rd-24th in Nicholasville, Ky., for the Keene Trace Collegiate hosted by Morehead State University.  

#BearDown