Max power — Kennedy claims big win for Louisville at Aggie Invitational
Max Kennedy after his winning The Aggie Invitational in Texas
Royal Dublin’s Max Kennedy claimed his first US collegiate win when he closed with a level par 72 to win The Aggie Invitational in Texas.
The University of Louisville Junior (21) racked up his fifth top-10 finish in a row at the Traditions Golf Course, where he opened with rounds of 71 and 66 to lead by a shot heading into the final round.
He had triple-bogeyed his 18th hole in that opening 71 but showed his steel for the remainder of the tournament.
Five back heading into the final round, LSU’s Luke Haskew turned in 33, then birdied three of the first four holes coming home to head Kennedy by a shot as the Royal Dublin man was level for the same stretch.
But he would drop two shots coming home and Kennedy’s level par 72 was enough to give him a one-shot win on seven-under over Haskew, his Louisville teammate Jiri Zuska (70), TCU’s Gustav Frimodt (71) and Texas A&M’s Phichaksn Maichon (72).
Other than the Mallow Scratch Cup, it’s Kennedy’s first win since Leinster U15s.
Louisville’s men's golf coach Ryan Blagg picked up his first tournament win in the final regular-season match as the Cardinals went wire-to-wire at the Aggie Invitational
It was Louisville’s first individual tournament win since John Murphy won a pair of events during the 2019-20 campaign.,
Kennedy shot 71-66-72=209 over the two days to continue his strong season. The junior entered the event with a 71.15 stroke average, which sits tops on the squad.
Kennedy, who has finished in the top 10 for the fifth-straight tournament, recorded 15 birdies over the 54 holes of the tournament.
Collectively, the victory is the first for the Cardinals since winning the Bearcat Invitational during the 2019-20 season.
Louisville held off host Texas A&M by shooting a 12-over-par over the two-day event. The Cards won by three strokes despite shooting an 8-over-par 296. For the two days, the Cardinals shot 281-275-296=852.
”I'm really proud of the guys," Blagg said. "This was a big win for us. They played very disciplined golf this week and beat a great field as well as a top 15 team on their home course. Max continues to show why he is great. This win was inevitable for him. He outworks his opponents and does everything the right way. We are going to celebrate today and then start getting ready for the conference championship."
Louisville went into the third round with an 11-shot lead after opening play Monday by carding a two-round total of 20-under-par.
The Cardinals were able to secure its first tournament win in four seasons with three players finishing in the top 10 after Sebastian Moss was tied for sixth after firing a 5-under-par 211.
The Cardinals return to action at the ACC Championship at the Country Club of North Carolina in Pinehurst, N.C. on April 21-24.
