Norwich — Chris Bennett knew little about the Norwich Invitational before his grandfather convinced him to sign up for the tournament.

He's sure glad he followed his grandfather's advice.

Bennett, who played high school golf at Daniel Hand in Madison, qualified for the championship flight for the second time in the four years that he's competed. He equaled his best round at Norwich Golf Course by shooting an even par 71 in Friday's qualifying round and earned the No. 4 seed in the championship flight.

"My grandpa got us into it," said Bennett, whose brother Jake also competed Friday and secured the top seed in the second flight. "He used to play this course all the time. He had a couple of friends in the area and he told us about the tournament. And it's just a blast. I love match play."

A recent graduate of High Point University in North Carolina, Bennett has been playing a lot of golf this summer to try to get his game back into shape. He was steady Friday, finishing with two birdies, two bogeys and the rest pars. He chipped in from just off the green for birdie on the fourth hole.

"I was little bit wild off the tee, but I was good around the greens," Bennett said. "I hit a lot of greens. The course sets up well for me because I don't hit the ball far at all. I was hitting hybrid off a lot of tees and getting away with that."

Bennett prepared for the tournament by playing a practice round with his grandfather, Larry O'Shea, a couple of weeks ago. O'Shea will be on hand to watch his grandson to compete against No. 13 Jeff Clang in the first round of match play Saturday morning.

"He'll be excited," said Bennett, who failed to advance past the first round in his only other championship flight appearance.

Near perfect summer weather greeted golfers on Day One of the 92nd Norwich Invitational.

Yet the scores didn't reflect the conditions.

Only two golfers broke par and two hit even par, including Bennett. The cut for the championship flight stood at 73.

"The scores are a little high today for the championship flight," Norwich pro Mike Svab said. "I thought that was a pretty easy set-up."

Drew Aitken and Nick Harrington, who've both played golf on the collegiate level, managed to conquer Norwich Golf Course. They benefited from teeing off in the morning before a breeze kicked up and helped drive up scores.

Aiken, a former Central Connecticut State University golfer and all-state standout at Killingly High School, secured medalist honors, firing a 5-under 66. He got off to a sizzling start, racking up birdies on three of the first five holes. He added two more birdies on the par three holes – No. 13 and No. 15.

A first-time runner-up last season, Aiken will try to reach his second straight trip to the finals, losing last year to Josh Cameron. He'll play No. 16 Corey Jones in his match play opener on Saturday.

A member of the UConn golf team, Harrington was right on Aiken's heels, finishing with a 4-under 67. An eagle three on 505-yard fifth hole was the highlight of Harrington's round. As the No. 3 seed, he'll face No. 14 Joseph Romanelli in the round of 16.

Rob Neaton, the No. 5 seed, joined Chris Bennett at even par, setting up an interesting match play opener. Neaton, who's the son of Black Hall superintendent Phil Neaton, will take on Black Hall member Bill Hermanson, the No. 12 seed.

Here's another intriguing match: Cameron, who received the No. 2 seed as the defending champion, will play No. 15 Chris DeLucia, a seven-time Norwich Golf Course men's club champion.

Three other championship flight pairings feature golfers who all shot 72 on Friday: No. 8 Sean Vigue vs. No. 9 Jim Lawler, No. 7 Todd Lavoie vs. No. 10 Noah Straub, and No. 6 Aaron Vargas vs. No. 11 Rob Tedoldi.

Survivors of Saturday's first and second round of match play will advance to Sunday morning's semifinals. The finals will tee off on Sunday afternoon.

g.keefe@theday.com