The University of Rhode Island men’s golf team capped off its fall season by making a couple of crucial late birdies to secure its fourth win of the year at the Wykagyl Intercollegiate this week.

The victory marks the second consecutive week where the Rams have made a comeback down the stretch after surrendering a lead on the final day, as they also clawed back to win the Nassau Intercollegiate on Oct. 21.

“In all six tournaments this year, we were not in the lead at some point on the back nine,” URI Head Coach Gregg Burke said. “As I’ve said before though, comebacks are either a lot of grit or lost leads, and in each one of our wins, we lost a lead on the back nine.”

The Rams got off to a fast start during the opening round in New Rochelle, New York, on Monday when they shot eight-under to jump out to a five-shot advantage over Long Island University. Four of the five members of the team shot under par and sat inside the top 10 on the individual leaderboard.

Third-year Josiah Tong put together the best score on the team with a first round of three-under, making zero bogeys across his final 16 holes. After falling to one-over on his second hole, Tong played mistake-free golf from there while adding four birdies to put himself in a tie for second and just one back of the lead.

Second-year Tyler Bruneau and fourth-year Aidan O’Donovan also found themselves right in the mix at the top of the individual leaderboard with opening rounds of two-under. Bruneau finished his round by making birdies on three of his final four holes.

URI once again got strong efforts from up and down the lineup in the second round on Monday afternoon, with four of the five players shooting even par or better on their way to a team score of five-under.

“I have five guys who can win a tournament,” Burke said. “We’re legitimately deep. At different tournaments, in different rounds and at different times, we’ve had guys really step up for one reason: they’re capable.”

After being the only player on the team to shoot over par during the opening round, second-year Luke Stennett responded with a team-best score of three-under in the second round. He got his round off to a rough start with a bogey at the par-five first hole, but he rattled off five birdies and just one bogey from there to move up to one-under overall and tied for ninth.

LIU was able to close the gap a bit in the second round, but URI still entered the final round of the tournament on Tuesday holding a three-shot advantage at 13-under. It was evident that it was going to be a two-horse race between the Rams and Sharks for the title, as there was a 17-shot difference between LIU and third-place St. John’s University.

“Whether it was six teams battling with us or just one, the message [on Tuesday] was just play the golf course,” Burke said. “Don’t worry about what they’re doing; just play the golf course and play your game.”

With a front nine of two-under on Tuesday, the Rams stretched their lead out to 10 shots and appeared to be on their way to a stress-free victory. However, things went astray on the back nine when URI combined to shoot 16-over on the first five holes of the back nine, allowing LIU to take the lead.

Tong, who was in the final grouping of the day, entered his final hole with the two teams knotted up at three-under. After making four bogeys in his previous five holes, Tong delivered with the tournament on the line by making a birdie on the 18th hole to give the Rams a one-shot victory over LIU.

“[Tong’s] a very analytical kid; so, if the [LIU] kid stiffs it, then he’s not going to panic,” Burke said. “But the kid hit it over the green in a spot where you can put a small bucket down, and he’s not making birdie. Josiah was able to attack the hole to a safe spot; that’s what he did, and then he rolled in the putt.”

Despite Tong being the one to clinch the win, third-year Tony Liu was the only member of the Rams to shoot under par in the final round. After being three-over through five holes, Liu made five birdies in his final 11 holes on his way to a seventh-place finish at two-under. All five members of the Rams ultimately finished 13th or better on the individual leaderboard.

Following a fall season with four victories for the second consecutive year, URI will look to build off this success when it begins play once again in the spring.

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