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Junior Chris Francoeur started his 2019 campaign for Rhody golf in the positive, as he took home individual medalist at the Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational.
Building off a summer that included a Rhode Island Stroke Play Championship victory and stout play in Massachusetts Amateur events, Francoeur was already coming into the season to compete and win as a member of the Rams. Over the two-day and three-round tournament, Francoeur totaled scores of 71-70-68 for a three round score of 7-under par 209. This is Francoeur’s second career individual collegiate win, with the first coming last year at the Cape Fear Intercollegiate. Francoeur lapped the field with his stellar performance at Seven Oaks Golf Club in Hamilton, New York, with second place finishing with a three day total of 1-under par 215 at the Par-72. Seven Oaks played at just over 6,800 yards as well for the tournament.
“He had a phenomenal summer,” said Head Coach Gregg Burke. “He has a focus that has grown the last year and a half. Chris has accepted his destiny as a great player.”
As a team, the Rams finished in 13th place out of 18 teams for the tournament with a total of 37-over par. The Rams were only able to play four in the tournament, with no ability to drop their worst score. Sophomore Austin Fox did well to finish in a tie for 52nd at 13-over par. Fox recorded rounds of 77 and 80 his first two rounds, before an even par 72 in his third round saw him vault up the leaderboard on the final day.
“Chris played 28 competitive rounds in big tournaments this summer,” said Burke. “No one else on the team did that and there’s not a lot of guys in the country who did that. It paid off for him.”
Ending up one stroke behind Fox on the leaderboard in his Rhode Island Golf debut was redshirt sophomore Brandon Gillis. He tied for 59th, but came out firing in his first round recording a 1-over 73. Freshman Bryson Richards also made his Rhode Island debut in his first ever collegiate tournament. A native of Plainfield, Vermont, Richards finished in a tie for 72nd at 17-over par for the tournament.
“I’ve been playing really well lately,” said Francoeur. “Just been preparing for tournaments the best I can and I just let the results payoff. I definitely had a good summer, I got a lot more disciplined in my practice so if I continue to do that and stay on top of my game it’ll keep me going forward for the rest of the season.”
The Rams now look forward to defending their title at the Doc Gimmler Tournament hosted by St. John’s University on Sept. 14 and 15.