KEENE, N.H. – Freshman
Sean Bonneau shot a 76, edging out three others by three strokes for individual medalist honors, and the Keene State College men's golf team shot a 328 to edge out three other teams who shot a 330 on a rainy Friday at the KSC Invitational hosted by the Keene Country Club.
Bonneau's 76 was a new best score in his rookie campaign and beat out Robbie DeFeo of Western New England University, Harrison Giambattista of Norwich University, and Andrew Stefura of Castleton University, all of whom shot a 78. Two others from New England College, Graham Hassan and Timothy Carlson each logged 79s.
Keene State won the team title at the event by matching a season-low 328 score on a wet, dreary day with rain and temperatures that were stuck in the 60s. In addition to Bonneau, McCaffrey shot an 82 and the Owls got a pair of 85s from
Caden Capaldo and
Cade Williams.
On a separate KSC entity that participated in the event,
Sean Cullen backed up his collegiate debut on Wednesday that saw him shoot an 81 with an 82 on Friday.
It was a tight race all day, with the Owls' scores ranging from 76 to 85, Western New England's scores 78 and 88, New England College's 79 and 89, Norwich's 78 and 89, Vermont State University Castleton's 78 and 87, and Western Connecticut State University's 83 and 88.
"It was a great team win in very difficult conditions," said Keene State head coach Jeff Timmer. "The win really came down to every shot by every player and that is when golf becomes a team sport. It took a complete team effort and our full concentration until the very end. Bonneau obviously had a great round in his first home match and McCaffrey gave us a boost from the five spot with his 82. Caden struggled on the front nine, but gave us a very good back nine, and Cade and Ace competed to the end even when things weren't going their way. We hope this win continues the momentum heading into next week at the LEC championship."
First and sixth place team finishes at the event were separated by just 11 strokes.
The conference championship will take place on Thursday and Friday (October 5 and 6) at the Riverside Golf Course in Portland, Maine, hosted by the University of Southern Maine. The Owls will look to begin to move up the ranks in just their second varsity season. Tee times on Thursday begin at 11:20 a.m. and Friday at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Connecticut State University is the defending champion and Ashton Lewis of the Warriors the individual medalist.
