RUTLAND, Vt. –
Aidan Davis shot a team-best 75 while Matt Bryant and
Justin Prim each finished with a 78 in their season debuts as the Keene State men's golf team opened competition at the two-day Vermont State University Castleton Invitational on Saturday at the Rutland Country Club.
KSC finished with a 313 as a team, using a new group of five players that also included the collegiate career debut of freshman Ben Peters. Davis, Bryant, and Prim each had a birdie, with the trio also combining for 30 pars. Bryant and Prim each logged team-best scores of 38 on the back nine to keep the Owls in the mix, as they trail third-place Norwich University by six strokes and fourth-place New England College by five.
The University of Southern Maine shot an eye-popping 277 as a team that included 20 birdies, with Alex Grant and SJ Welch both shooting three-under (67). Jaden Poirier finished with an even par 70, while Will Farschon – the Huskies' fourth scorer – finished with a 73. Clarkson University also had two under par, including round leader Luke Weisiger who shot a 33 on both the front and back nines in a four-under round of 66.
The 223-yard par three fifth hole was costly for KSC, with the four counted scores combining for a 20, seven shots behind NEC's combined 13 on the same hole. Three of the top four teams finished with a 14 or better on the hole outside of Norwich's combined 16. Keene State had four double bogeys or worse combined in the round, with three of them coming on No. 5.
For the Owls, Davis had six pars and a birdie while compiling a 36 (+1) on the front nine before he parred five holes on the back. Bryant's birdie came on the 481-yard par five fourth hole while Prim carded a four on the 539-yard par five 13th hole.
The round continued a consistent stretch for KSC, who has shot between a 313 and 316 in every round so far this year after doing so five times in 11 chances a season ago.
"We played good, I wish we could have played five better," said Owls head coach
Jeff Timmer. "Other than that the boys hung in there."
The event continues Sunday (September 20) with the final round. KSC tees off at 10:50 a.m. with NEC and Castleton, with the top three (Southern Maine, Clarkson, and Norwich) beginning at 11:40 a.m.
