On Oct. 1-3, the UConn men’s golf team finished in first place at the GreatHorse Invitational. The Huskies’ younger players displayed exceptional skills, and the team was determined to place high early on in the tournament. Behind the Huskies, Siena College finished in second place and Boston College finished in third. The Huskies tied for second place after the first round. Connecticut’s senior Tommy Dallahan, junior Ray Dennehy and sophomore Connor Goode posted scores in the top 10, helping their squad towards that second-place spot alongside Boston College and Iona University.
Let’s take a look at how the UConn men’s golf team performed each day of the tournament.
Day 1
UConn got off to a hot start with Dallahan and Dennehy posting top 10 scores. Goode and Dennehy shot a 71 (-1) with a five-way tie for fourth place. Dallahan shot an even par (72) tie for ninth place. Junior Trevor Lopez and freshman Bradley Sawka each shot a 78 (+6). Dennehy, Dallahan, Goode, Lopez and Sawka helped with a total aggregate score of 292 (+4), tying Boston College and Iona in the 13-team field.
Day 2
Dallahan, Dennehy and Goode continued their strong play on Monday. Goode shot a 73 (+1), Dallahan shot a 74 (+2) and Dennehy shot a 73 (+1), aiding UConn to a top spot. They headed into Tuesday with a six-shot lead in first place over Boston College and Siena College. UConn players who competed as individuals for the team were Eric Boulger, Alex Heard, Jack Kantowski, Christopher Sacher, Vikram Konanki and Colin Spencer.
Final Round
In the end, the Huskies got it done and won the GreatHorse Invitational. Goode shot a final round score of 71 (-1), finishing in first place in the 78-player field. Goode was the only player to post a total score under par throughout the tournament. Goode’s total aggregate score was (71-73-71). He just beat out LIU’s Lewis Wright, whose total score was a 216 (73-73-70). All five starters for the Huskies placed in the Top 18 in the tournament. Dennehy finished in an eighth-place tie, posting a 73 (+2). Dennehy’s total aggregate score was 218 (71-74-73). In Sawka’s first collegiate tournament, he finished tied for 12th place. His total was 220 (78-72-70). Dallahan also tied for 12th place finishing the weekend with a 220 (72-74-74). Lopez finished in 18th place with an aggregate of 221 (78-73-70).
Main Takeaways
This tournament served as an excellent opportunity for the Huskies to showcase their skills and demonstrate how far their team has come along since the Knoxville Collegiate tournament, albeit with lighter competition. The GreatHorse Invitational was an opportunity for younger players like Sawka and Heard to get more tournament experience.
This was UConn’s 17th title under head coach Dave Pezzino. In the GreatHorse Invitational, this was UConn’s fifth crown. UConn can’t celebrate for too long as they go back down south on Sunday, Oct. 8, where they will face strong competition at the BMW Intercollegiate Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
