TOWNSEND, Mass. – Competing for the second season after returning to varsity play, the New Haven men's golf team opened its 2023 fall campaign with a fifth place finish at the Franklin Pierce Invitational, a two-round tournament held at the Northern Sky Golf Club.

The Chargers finished the two-day event 15 strokes over par with a 585 to finish tied with Saint Anselm in the 11-team field. Post University took home the team title, closing out the event four stroke under par on the par-70 course.

Leading the way for New Haven was sophomore Aissa El Khadri (Torremolino, Spain/Sotogrande International School) who capped off the first event of the season one stroke over par with a 161. El Khadri showed a marked improvement from the first to second round, shaving off nine strokes to finish -4 on day two with a 66, which was also the second lowest individual round for all golfers on the weekend.

Also seeing a marked improvement from the first to second round was freshman Aaron Browning (Waxhaw, N.C./Cuthbertson) who eliminated six strokes from his opening round to finish par 70 in round two. Browning finished second overall for the Chargers with a six over 146. Just two strokes behind him was another rookie, Hermann Gavilan (/) who posted an eight over 148, carding a pair of matching rounds of 74.

Rounding out the top-four for New Haven was freshman Ben Rich (St. Louis, Mo./Ladue Horton Watkins) who also shot matching rounds, his coming in at five-over 75 for a two-round total of 150. Senior Tyler Pickman (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) completed the Chargers five for the weekend, finishing the tournament with a 174.

The New Haven men's golf team will return to action in two weeks when they again travel north, this time to the Granite State for the Penmen Fall Invitational at the Concord Country Club in Concord, N.H. The two-day event is scheduled for Monday, September 25 and Tuesday, September 26.

Full New Haven Results