Redshirt senior Jordan Brajcich picked up the first collegiate win of his career this past weekend at the Battle of Rum Pointe. PHOTO CREDIT: gorhody.com
After capturing first place at The Carpetbagger Classic two weekends ago, the University of Rhode Island golf team’s only goal at The Battle of Rum Pointe was to win back-to-back.
The Rams traveled to Rum Pointe Golf Club in Berlin, Md. to compete against 21 other schools and came out victorious, winning the tournament by a margin of 14 strokes.
Leading the team to victory was redshirt senior captain Jordan Brajcich, who shot a -1-under 71 in the final round to complement a -3-under 69 posted on Day 1 to finish atop the final tournament leaderboard.
After the end of the first day, Brajcich trailed by two strokes to Cornell’s Samuel King, who posted a -5-over 67 in the opening round. With only one more round to go, Brajcich had not only a deficit to overcome, but dozens of golfers biting at his heels to overtake him as well.
“I started off pretty slow, not to my liking, and then I kind of bounced back pretty well and was able to shoot -1,” Brajcich said. “I think I just went in with the mindset of staying patient, and I executed it pretty well.”.
While Brajcich’s play on the course is highly noticeable and evident, his impact behind the scenes is just as much, if not more, important.
“Jordan is the best leader and the best captain I’ve ever had in 11 years,” Head Coach Gregg Burke said. “He’s a great athlete, [a] great kid, destined for greatness and now it is coming together for him on the golf course.”
URI’s win was not a one-man performance. Four out of their five golfers placed in the Top 20 for the weekend. Bryson Richards shot -3 and finished tied for third place, while Austin Fox finished tied for 14th with a score of +3. Finally, Brandon Gillis just sneaked his way inside the top 20, tied at 17th with a score of +4.
“We have worked incredibly hard in strength and conditioning and we have worked really hard as much as we can hitting indoors and it’s just paying off,” Burke said. “We’re a very very good team.”
Brajcich agreed that the golf team’s recent dominance comes from putting in work off the course and being competitive in those practice situations as well.
“This group especially, everyone is very competitive and it makes for really good practice,” Brajcich said. “I think with the level that we have upped our games at, we are starting to peak at the right time.”
The Rams are back in action this weekend when they travel to Bloomfield, Conn. to compete in the Hartford/Wintonberry Hills Invitational. The competition will span all day Saturday and Sunday.
“This is just a glimpse of what is to come in the next few weeks,” Brajcich said.