The University of Rhode Island men’s golf team pulled away from the rest of the field on the back nine of the final round at the Nassau Intercollegiate this week to win its third event of the fall season.
Dealing with tough conditions and high winds in Glen Cove, New York, the Rams shot 31-over as a team across the three rounds, which was six shots ahead of second-place finisher Fairfield University.
“I think our guys can all look at themselves and look to the two people they’re playing with and say, ‘We’ve outworked people, so we’re not going to give up on all that effort,’” URI Head Coach Gregg Burke said. “We’ve invested in ourselves, so the next shot could be a great one even if we have played poorly to date.”
The Rams got off to a strong start in the opening round on Monday with a round of three-over to take a three-shot lead over the United States Military Academy at West Point. Following the first round, URI had three players inside the top 10 on the individual leaderboard.
Leading the way for Rhody was third-year Tony Liu, who provided the only round on the team in red figures with a score of one-under. Liu was the lone player in the field to make just one bogey or worse during the morning round, putting him in a three-way tie at the top of the individual leaderboard.
As the wind picked up Monday afternoon, the Rams struggled at the start of the second round. Their five players shot a combined 17-over across their first seven holes to quickly fall out of the lead. However, Rhody was able to recover down the stretch and finish the second round at 14-over to head into the final day with a six-shot advantage over Army.
Fourth-year Aidan O’Donovan was the driving force for the Rams, becoming the only player in the field to not shoot over par on the day with a second consecutive round of even. After dropping to two-over through six holes, O’Donovan racked up three birdies over his next nine holes to head into the final day with a two-shot lead on the individual leaderboard in search of his first career win.
“[O’Donovan] used three and a half years of college athletics experience that helped him stick to his game plan no matter what the conditions were,” Burke said. “Whether he made a birdie, par or bogey, the next time he hit a shot, he stuck to the game plan. In all sports, that’s how you win.”
Similarly to the second round, the final round on Tuesday got off to a precarious start for the Rams when they shot 15-over on the front nine, which turned their six-shot lead into a three-shot deficit behind Army.
With the tournament on the line, Rhody strung together a combined score of one-under on the back nine to pull away from the rest of the 12-team field and secure their third victory in five events this year.
“We said before the round, and we say throughout most rounds, we’re going to scratch and claw, and we know that even one shot can make the difference,” Burke said. “It’s quite a luxury to be able to look in the mirror and say, ‘I’ve outworked people,’ and I think that’s what gives us our resilience.”
After shooting 14-over across the two rounds on Monday, second-year Tyler Bruneau provided the best score for the Rams on Tuesday with a round of even par. His performance was a 10-shot improvement from the second round to catapult him more than 25 spots up the individual leaderboard into a tie for 24th.
Despite not being able to complete the individual victory, O’Donovan still finished inside the top 10 for the second time this year, shooting six-over to end up in a tie for sixth. The Rams got another top-10 finish from second-year Luke Stennett, who shot one-under on the back nine in the final round to help Rhody cap off their win.
Looking ahead, URI has one more tournament remaining on its fall schedule to complete a season that’s included three victories and finishes inside the top four in each of its five events.
“When [we return home], we’re focusing on the next tournament, [and] what happened today is ancient history,” Burke said. “I think this team, because of its maturity and focus, can absorb that… We have four days to prepare; we’re going to do everything in our power to take care of academics and get ready for the next tournament.”
URI will wrap up its fall season at the Wykagyl Intercollegiate in New Rochelle, New York, on Monday and Tuesday.
The post Golf fights back in final round to secure third win of season first appeared on The Good 5¢ Cigar.
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