Two top-10 finishes pace Bulldogs at Hartford Hawk Invitational

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Led by top-10 individual finishes from juniors Joe Walp (Portland, Maine) and Kyle Buschmann (East Haddam, Conn.), the Bryant University golf team finished tied for seventh overall at the Hartford Hawk Invitational.

The Bulldogs' three-round 905 came in 31 strokes behind host Hartford, who won the event with a 10-over 874, as Bryant finished tied with URI and Hofstra in the 19-team field. Walp finished just two over par through 54 holes to card a 218 (70-76-72), finishing sixth overall on the individual leaderboard. Three strokes behind, Buschmann would finish tied for eighth with a three-round 221 (72-75-74), moving up two places from Day 1 action.

Sophomore McKinley Slade (Saunderstown, R.I.) shot his best round of the tournament Tuesday with a 73 and picked up 18 spots to finish tied for 51st (77-82-73=232), while classmate Ryan Tombs (Bedford, N.H.) dropped 16 places into a tie for 56th with a round-three 81 (76-77-81=234). Rookie Gabriel Van Ness (Clinton, Conn.) finished tied for 90th in his collegiate debut, carding a three-round 243 (78-82-83).

The Bulldogs finished the tournament ahead of fellow Northeast Conference members LIU Brooklyn (14th) and Sacred Heart (16th). Hartford's Evan Russell won the individual title with a six-under 210. Bryant returns to the course Oct. 4-5 for the MacDonald Cup, hosted by Yale University in New Haven, Conn.