ORLANDO – The UCF men's golf team is set to open the season on Monday at the Hartford Hawks Invitational, hosted by University of Hartford at the Bulls Bridge Golf Club in South Kent, Connecticut.
Play will begin with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday with the teams competing in 36 holes of continuous play on Monday and 18 holes in the final round on Tuesday. The course will play at a par-72 and measure approximately 6,992 yards for the weekend. Fans can follow along with scores live on golfstat.com, which will be updated following the conclusion of each round.
The 16-team field of competition the Knights will take on includes Bryant, Fairfield, Fairleigh Dickinson, Fordham, Hartford, LaSalle, LIU, Longwood, Manhattan, Merrimack, Mount St. Mary's, Rider, Sacred Heart, Towson and UConn.
The Knights are paired with Longwood and UConn and will start on holes 1-3.
"We're excited to get on the road and put what we've practiced into play," said UCF men's golf head coach Bryce Wallor. "We're traveling to a course that has a different grass and elevation than we're used to, so it's the type of golf course that will hopefully help us in an NCAA Championship experience at the end of the year. We're trying to get out of our local area and play at a different altitude and typography.
"We have a bunch of players that have seen the golf course multiple times and have had success on the course. I feel confident in our ability to know what we're getting into and it's always good when you've played a course a few years in a row."
With the first official qualifier in the books, the Knights will roll out a lineup that consists of Luis Carrera, Egor Eroshenko, Markus Braadlie, Juan Camilo Vesga and Johnny Travale. Chase Haygood and Cooper Tate will compete in the invitational as individuals.
UCF also competed at the Hartford Hawks Invitational last season, winning the title by more than 35 strokes. The Knights fired a team score of 839 (-35), posting the lowest three-round total ever at the event while also tying for the second lowest 54-hole mark in program history.
Travale claimed the individual crown last year with a three-round total score of 205 (-11) to tie for the sixth lowest 54-hole score in UCF men's golf history. His 8-under-par 64 in the final round was one stroke shy of the course record and tied for the fourth low est 18-hole score in Knights program history.
The Knights will look to have similar success this week in an event that the squad has won in each of the past four years.
Below is the qualifying information.
Qualifying Information
- Luis Carrera won the qualifying for the 2022 Hartford Hawk Invitational by finishing first in the five-round qualifier with a score of +4.
- Egor Eroshenko qualified for the 2022 Hartford Hawk Invitational by finishing second in the five-round qualifier with a score of +6.
- Markus Braadlie qualified for the 2022 Hartford Hawk Invitational by finishing third in the five-round qualifier with a score of +7.
- Juan Camilo Vesga qualified for the 2022 Hartford Hawk Invitational by finishing fourth in the five-round qualifier with a score of +9.
Coach's Pick: Johnny Travale, currently the highest ranked player on the UCF golf team with a world ranking of 114, missed the first round of qualifying after being chosen to represent Canada in the 2022 World Amateur Team Championship. He has been given a coach's exemption for the 2022 Hartford Hawk Invitational.
Chase Haygood will participate as an individual at the 2022 Hartford Hawk Invitational by virtue of finishing 5th in the five-round qualifier with a score of +16.
Cooper Tate will participate as an individual at the 2022 Hartford Hawk Invitational by virtue of finishing 6th in the five-round qualifier with a score of +20.
| 2022 Hartford Hawk Invitational Qualifying Results | ||||||||
| Player | Rd. 1 | Rd. 2 | Rd. 3 | Rd. 4 | Rd. 5 | TOTAL | Compared to Par |
|
| 1 | Luis Carrera | 72 | 76 | 75 | 71 | 70 | 364 | +4 |
| 2 | Egor Eroshenko | 72 | 70 | 73 | 78 | 73 | 366 | +6 |
| 3 | Markus Braadlie | 71 | 73 | 74 | 74 | 75 | 367 | +7 |
| 4 | Juan Camilo Vesga | 77 | 74 | 71 | 73 | 74 | 369 | +9 |
| 5 | Chase Haygood | 73 | 72 | 80 | 75 | 76 | 376 | +16 |
| 6 | Cooper Tate | 75 | 77 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 380 | +20 |
| 7 | Tom Stephens | 75 | 84 | 76 | 73 | 76 | 384 | +24 |
| 8 | Clement Charmasson | 84 | 81 | 72 | 73 | 78 | 388 | +28 |
| 9 | Nicholas Estrada | 77 | 76 | 83 | 79 | 77 | 392 | +32 |
| 10 | Johnny Travale | DNP | 75 | 69 | 71 | 73 | DNP | E |