Bradford, PA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's golf team began its 2025 campaign on Saturday, hosting the annual Pitt-Bradford Kickoff Classic at the Pennhills Club. The Panthers finished with a team score of 300, finishing in 2nd place.

The Panthers missed out on the victory by just two strokes, finishing behind Hobart, who posted a team score of 298. They were 3 strokes ahead of Pitt-Greensburg in third. Along with the top team, the Panthers were able to field a second group in the tournament. The gold team finished tied for 11th with a score of 330.

The top finisher for the Panthers was senior Max Bizzak, who fired a 3-over 74 to finish tied for 2nd. He was one stroke behind the winner. Just one stroke behind Bizzak was freshman Nathan Close and sophomore Michael Peterson, who each finished at 75. They were in a tie for 7th. Another freshman closed out the scoring group for the Panthers as newcomer Evan Steffen finished tied for 12th at 76. Brady Susi missed out on the scoring, shooting an 82, which put him in 41st.

In the second grouping, three freshmen had impressive debut outings. Levi Howard, Conner Zaffino, and Dillon Georgi all shot 10-over-par 81s, putting them in a tie for 33rd place. Drew Heinze finished at 87, placing 61st.

The Panthers will be back in action on Monday, September 8th. They will travel to the hometown of golfing legend Arnold Palmer, Latrobe, Pa., to play in the St. Vincent Invitational.