REDDING, Conn. – Keene State College junior
Aidan Davis shot an 82 and was in a fourth-place tie at the conclusion of the opening day of the 2025 Little East Conference men's golf championship held at The Redding Country Club on a windy and chilly fall Thursday, hosted by Western Connecticut State University.
The Hinsdale, N.H. native got his round on track after a slow start, carding a birdie on the sixth and 11th holes to go along with four other pars from the seventh through the 12th. On a day where the field combined for 157 double bogeys or worse, Davis had just two holes worse than a bogey and will enter the second and final day of the championship just four shots away from co-leaders Jasper Bruins Slot of Rhode Island College and Keenan Buteau of defending league champion University of Southern Maine, both of whom shot a seven-over 78.
As a team, the Owls are in the mix in a tight field where the second through sixth-place teams are separated by 15 strokes. KSC is in fourth with a combined 355 as a team, four behind second-place Rhode Island College and one behind third-place Eastern Connecticut State University. Southern Maine is in the lead with a 335, with Buteau's 78 and Alex Fournier's 81 a major factor in the Huskies having the lead at the end of day one for the second straight year.
Davis is tied with Eastern's Ethan McDaniel, the defending individual medalist, and WestConn's Logan Starks in fourth place with an 82.
As a team, KSC tied for the second-most birdies in the round (five) with Eastern Connecticut, behind USM's seven.
However, the Owls' team score was limited by high scores sprinkled into their rounds outside of Davis. Freshman
Taylor Miller, typically finishing in the 70s or low 80s, finished with a 90. He birdied No. 1 and No. 14, but also had an eight on No. 11 and a seven on No. 17 to dent his score.
Sean McCaffrey shot a 91 and
Sean Bonneau a 92 to round out KSC's scoring contingent. Davis had the best score for the Owls on both the front and back nine, shooting a 41 on both.
"The men battled to the very end for me," said Keene State head coach Jeff Timmer. "It is the hardest course we have ever played in KSC golf history. Hopefully we can battle again tomorrow. Aidan had a great round."
The second and final day of the championship will get underway with 9:00 a.m. tee times.
