Keene State College Men’s Golf competed in the Little East Conference (LEC) Championship on Tuesday, Oct. 13 and Wednesday, Oct. 14, at Mohegan Sun Golf Club in Baltic, Connecticut. The Owls battled their way from a sixth-place finish on the first day of the tournament to a fourth-place finish on the second day, jumping two spots.
The Owls previously competed at Mohegan Sun during an invitational against Eastern Connecticut State University (Eastern) on Sept. 14. The Owls placed seventh of nine competitors, shooting 316 as a team.
The first day of the LEC Tournament was an uphill battle for the Owls. Keene State shot 159 on the front nine, shooting only three birdies, one each from senior Aidan Davis, sophomore Taylor Miller, and first-year Cole Madden.
The Owls did not improve on the back nine, earning a team score of 319. The score put them in sixth place of six teams and left the Owls with nowhere to go but up.
Davis, who earned the best score of the Owls on day one with a 6-over 77, said that he did well. “Day one was alright,” Davis said. “I didn’t hit enough greens, but [my drives] went really well. I scored pretty well, so it didn’t really matter too much.”
Miller said that between day one and two, the team decided to change their mindset going in. “I just went out there like I had something to prove,” Miller said. “I didn’t want to struggle again, and I tried to focus a little more, make less simple mistakes and stay smart.”
In last place, the Owls said they had little to lose going into day two of the tournament. The attitude paid off for Keene State, which jumped two spots in the tournament rankings to fourth. The effort was aided by a 1-under front nine by Madden, who shot three birdies on holes three, five, and seven. Madden shot a 1-over 72 on the second day, good for the eighth-best individual score of the tournament, and his career-best round in NCAA Division III golf. Miller shot 77 on the par-72 course for the Owls’ second- best score of the LEC tournament.
Madden said he was happy with how he played on the second day of the tournament. “My putter was rolling, I was hitting fairways, putting things close [to the green],” Madden said. “A couple of guys battled [on the first day], but on the second day, I feel like we all pulled together.”
Davis, who shot 81, said that the second day was not his best score of the year. “I’ve been around the mid-70s all year, so it’s definitely not what I wanted, but that’s alright.”
The Owls said that the course was well maintained for the conditions. “I love the course,” Madden said. “It was awesome. [The groundskeeper] definitely made it tough. They rolled the greens, which definitely made it a little faster, but I enjoyed it. I thought it was an awesome layout, and they set it up really well for us.”
Davis said that while he liked the course, his favorite hole was hole 12. “[Hole 12] is a 350-yard par four,” Davis said. “If I hit it well, I can almost drive it. I birdied that day one, and I could have birdied it day two, but I had a bad shot.”
Reflecting on the future of the golf program, Davis said that he has high hopes for the program’s future. “I think [the freshmen] are gonna be really good in the future,” Davis said. “Taylor Miller, he’s a dog. That kid’s going to be good for the next few years for sure. We’re still a pretty young program, and I think that in the next couple of years we’re going to be real championship contenders.”
Frank LeBlanc can be contacted at
fleblanc@kscequinox.com
