Men’s Golf: UConn posts strong showing at Xavier Invitational 

The UConn men’s golf team, playing in the Xavier Invitational on Monday and Tuesday in Cincinnati, OH, performed well after an unideal start, securing them the No. 4 spot in the standings.  

The first round on Monday proved rough for the Huskies, as the course provided a difficult challenge for many teams. Junior Connor Goode, UConn’s best golfer for the round, provided a bright spot by shooting an eagle on the par-5, 530-yard 14^th hole. The very next hole, however, he ended up with a double bogey, eliminating the strokes gained from the eagle and leaving him two over par for the round. Bradley Sawka began his day with a birdie before a bogey brought him back to even par. He shot three birdies in total, but a double bogey on the 17^th hole made for a finish of 73, four over par. Junior Eric Boulger had one birdie and six bogeys – four of which came on the back nine – to card a score of plus five. Vikram Konanki rounded out the team with a six over par, falling victim to a double bogey on the par-3 2^nd hole, which was one of the toughest holes on the course during round one, although it got little easier throughout the course of play. Through the first round, the Huskies sat at 17 over par as a team, which put them 15 strokes back of then-leaders IU Indy and eighth out of 12 in the standings.  

Fortunately for UConn, the team’s performance vastly improved in the second round of play on Monday. Goode continued his stellar run of form, carding a four under par 65 for the Huskies. He shot four birdies on the front nine and added two more on the back end, his only blemishes being bogeys on the 5^th and 18^th holes. Sawka did almost as well, starting strong and firing five birdies on the way to a 67, three under par. Senior Ray Dennehy, after being left off the scoresheet in round one, came back to notch a score of two under par, aided by a spectacular eagle on the par-4 11^th hole; it took him just two shots to go from the tee to in the hole. Konanki, who improved slightly from his first round, once again rounded out the team score, shooting a four over par. His best moment of the round came when he fired an eagle on the par-5 7^th hole. The far better showing overall in round two meant that the Huskies carded a minus five, rocketing up the standings and vaulting into a tie for third.  

As morning dawned on Tuesday, the Huskies had a chance to vie for first place. However, they quickly fell behind the pace of the leaders, who were both teams from host Xavier University. All of the golfers for Connecticut hovered around even par for most of the day as the pace of play slowed considerably from Monday. Instead of a shotgun start around multiple holes, every golfer began in groups at the first hole. Dennehy provided the most excitement with an eagle on the same hole Goode had his on Monday. However, three bogeys and a string of pars left Dennehy sitting on a score of plus one. Boulger also put in a strong showing, firing three birdies. Konanki and Sawka both ended up with a score of 73, putting them three over par. Surprisingly, Goode had a rough outing after two rounds of excellent play; he shot a double bogey on the 6^th hole and never really got going. He still finished as one of the tournament’s best golfers, though, placing high in the individual standings. 

Coming up, the Huskies will travel all the way to Hawaii to take part in the Ka’anapali Collegiate Invitational, played at the Royal Ka’anapali Golf Course. The invitational will be hosted by the University of Hawaii from Nov. 2 to 4 and feature 21 teams from across the United States, including Georgia, Kansas and Colorado.