OLEAN, N.Y. – Spearheaded by a 1-under 69 from junior Brian McKenna, the St. Bonaventure golf team moved from fifth place following the first round to a third-place finish on Monday at the 23rd Annual Leo Keenan Invitational.
Robert Morris won the invite for the second time in its history, finishing with a Keenan record 571 two-day total. After shooting a 285 on Sunday, the Colonials followed up with a 286 on Monday to break the previous record of 575, held by St. Bonaventure and Drexel in 2005.
Humber, a Canadian school, checked in second with a 586, while the Bonnies finished three shots off that pace with a 589, three clear of fourth-place Drexel.
After opening with an uncharacteristic 7-over 77 on day one of the invite, McKenna rebounded on day two as he tied for the second-lowest round of the day. The Rochester, N.Y. native finished tied for 10th overall – the lowest individual on the Bona roster.
Senior Kevin Lewis paced the Brown and White on Sunday with a 1-over 71, and on Monday struggled in cool, windy and damp conditions to shoot a 76 and finish tied for 12th overall with a two-day total of 147.
That number was matched by sophomore Chris Mackey who had a breakthrough tournament. The Bradford, Pa. native fired rounds of 73 and 74 on Sunday and Monday, respectively, to tie with Lewis as the second-lowest Bonnie.
Junior Greg Horvath was two shots off Lewis's and Mackey's pace as he finished with a 149 for a tie for 20th overall. After shooting a 76 on Sunday, the Connecticut product responded with a 73 on Monday – the second-best round by a Bonaventure golfer.
Sophomore and Olean native Scott Brady rounded out the Bona scoring for the tournament with an 82 on Monday, and a two-day total of 159 to tie for 47th overall.
Fairmont State's Jess Ferrell won medalist honors after shooting rounds of 66 and 72 to finish with a two-day total of 138. That score is tied for the third-lowest 36-hole total by an individual in invite history.
Humber's Mark Hoffman shot rounds of 72 and 67 to finish just one shot behind Ferrell. The 67 on Monday was the lowest round of the day, and is tied for the second-best final round in Keenan history. Hoffman's two-day total of 139 is tied for the fourth-best 36-hole performance with McKenna's finish at last year's invitational.
Playing as individuals – meaning their scores did not factor into the overall team score for St. Bonaventure – freshmen Pierce Terrance, Daniel Dunnigan and Brian Jurkiewicz finished with two-day scores of 154, 159 and 166, respectively.
The 6,308-yard Bartlett Country Club played much longer than its listed yardage on Monday as just two holes on the course played under par – the par-4 1st and the par-5 14th.
St. Bonaventure returns to action this Saturday and Sunday when it travels to the Cornell Invitational at Robert Trent Jones Golf Course.
