PUTNAM, Conn. – The Bentley University golf team had its best performance thus far this fall during the opening round of the American International/Adelphi Invitational at the Connecticut National Golf Club Saturday.

With all five shooting in the 70's, the Falcons carded a team score of 297 and stand fourth in a field of 13 at the midpoint of the two-day tournament. Adelphi sits atop the leaderboard with a 292, and both St. Thomas Aquinas (293) and UMass-Lowell (295) also bettered Bentley's score.

Freshman Tommy Ayres (Bolton, Mass./Nashoba Reg. HS), coming off a 76 in the second round of last week's Saint Rose Fall Shootout, finished with a one-over-par 72 despite bogeying the final hole. Senior co-captain Dan McQueen (Topsfield, Mass./Topsfield HS) followed with a two-over 73.

Junior Harry Kirkpatrick (Lancaster, Mass./Nashoba Reg. HS) and freshman Malcolm Oliver (Damariscotta, Maine/Lincoln Academy) both turned in a 76, and sophomore Jon Stoddard (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury HS) fired a 78 in his Bentley debut. Oliver's round was highlighted by an eagle-3 on the 540-yard 12th hole, and Stoddard had the solid round despite a quadruple bogey on the seventh after he had opened with six straight pars.

The tournament concludes on Sunday.

AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL/ADELPHI INVITATIONAL

At Connecticut National GC, Putnam, Conn.

Day 1 of 2 

Leading Teams: 1. Adelphi 292, 2. St. Thomas Aquinas 293, 3. UMass-Lowell 295, 4. Bentley 297, 5. Le Moyne 298, 6. Holy Cross 299 (there are a total of six teams)

Bentley Scores: Tommy Ayers 72, Dan McQueen 73, Harry Kirkpatrick 76, Malcolm Oliver 76, Jon Stoddard 78, Ryan Hudson 80.