Despite a short break, the UConn men’s golf team is ready to get back into action, this time at the Palmas Del Mar Intercollegiate in Humacao, Puerto Rico. The Huskies are fresh off of a solid win In Big East Matchplay, although the field this week will be much stiffer. Connecticut will be pitted against 14 other schools outside the Big East. They must be on their A-game if they wish to place well.
Win or lose, this will surely be a three-day stint that the UConn golf team will remember forever. This weekend’s tournament site is the Palmas Del Mar Golf Club. The world-renowned Rees Jones designed “The Flamboyán Course,” which the Huskies will take on. This is a picturesque 7,122-yard par 72 that has many features to look out for. Part of the design of this course was to easily allow winds to come through and create additional challenges for the golfer. This is especially true on the par five hole No. 7 and the par four hole No. 9. Water will also play a significant role this weekend, as the course sits alongside a large freshwater lake and even parts of the Caribbean Sea. Unfortunately for the Huskies, this course is littered with bunkers on nearly every hole, from the fairways to the green. Despite the beauty of the scenery, this course has a high degree of difficulty, and there is the potential for some very high scores.
If UConn wishes to repeat last week’s success, they will need to lean on their veterans, such as Jimmy Paradise. The Florida-native performed well for Connecticut last weekend, posting an undefeated 3-0-0 record, while shooting the lowest par four scores of any Husky.
UConn will also face a familiar foe from last season in Michigan. Connecticut squared away with the Wolverines in last year’s Desert Mountain Invitational. This was a tournament the Huskies left disappointed, finishing 14th out of the 15 teams competing. Michigan fared much better, placing third out of the whole field. Something to watch out for in this year’s tournament will be the distance between the Huskies and the rest of the pack. Take last year’s matchup with the Wolverines — UConn finished over 50 strokes behind — a feat that they will try not to repeat this weekend. However, doing so will be much more difficult with the departure of Jared Nelson. The graduate student was the leader of the program, winning Big East Player of the Year honors last season.
Freshman Alex Heard also had a weekend to remember. Not only did he go unbeaten, but the Florida-native led all UConn golfers with 15 birdies in three rounds of competition. The big question is if he can play at the high level he did last weekend. If Connecticut wishes to place high in this weekend’s competition, they will need him to keep on chugging.
The Palmas Del Mar Intercollegiate is not going to be easy. Every program is talented, and we should expect nothing short of a close finish for the three days of action. Who steps up and leads this program needs to be watched closely. The Huskies must get up to speed as soon as possible because a goal of theirs is to put on a solid showing in this year’s Big East tournament. They will be looking to improve upon last year’s ninth-place showing. Of course, if they do well enough in tournaments like this and finish high enough in-conference, they can compete in the NCAA Championship. However, the journey to that starts with competing at a high level in the Palmas Del Mar Intercollegiate.