The men’s golf team traveled down to South Carolina and finished tied for fifth out of 19 teams at the Golfweek/AGT Invitational. The Huskies were one of eight teams to have at least two golfers place in the top-15.
The third round was unfortunately canceled due to the weather, but for the first two, the Huskies made an exceptional effort. In the first round they shot 293 and came back to shoot 283. The total, 576, helped them finish at an even par for the course. They finished just six strokes behind the winner Richmond.
Leading the way for UConn were seniors Jimmy Paradise and Tommy Dallahan. Paradise finished tied for tenth in the 100-golfer field shooting three-under par (141). Dallahan, who finished tied for fifteenth, was not far behind his teammate, shooting one-under par (143).
Paradise notched 11 total birdies, which was tied for the most among all participants. Dallahan also played the par fives very well, finishing three-under on them throughout the tournament.
With Paradise and Dallahan leading the way, UConn finished third in both par five scores and total number of birdies as a group, a major reason UConn turned in an impressive fifth-place team finish.
UConn’s third man freshman Bradley Sawka finished 28th in the field. After shooting 76 in the first round, he came back incredibly strong for the second round to shoot 69, tied for the fourth lowest among all competitors. Sawka is coming off a week where he cashed in a six-under performance at the Bridgestone Collegiate Invitational and earned Big East Golfer of the Week honors.
The Huskies’ fourth man freshman Alex Heard had a similar game to Sawka where he shook off a 75 in the first round to shoot 72 in the second.
Rounding out the top five for UConn was junior Ray Dennehy who shot 155 across both rounds. Similar to Sawka, Dennehy was awarded Big East Golf of the Week honors for his performance at the Surf Club Invite three weeks ago. For the three rounds, the junior shot an impressive 10-under that helped UConn take the team title over 18 teams. The Huskies will need these levels of play from everyone to contend in the competitive Big East Championships.
As an individual, sophomore Connor Goode finished tied for 86th in the field shooting 154.
The Huskies next travel to Penn State to compete in the Rutherford Invitational starting on April 13. It will be their last match before they travel down to the Riverton Pointe Golf and Country Club in Hardeeville, South Carolina, to compete in the Big East Championships.