The University of Rhode Island men’s golf team had finished top three at the UConn Invitational in each of the past two seasons. But with a key piece missing this year, it was going to be tough to repeat this success.
The Rams finished tied for 8th out of 12 teams at the GreatHorse Golf Club in Hampden, Massachusetts with a total team score of 34-over par. Compared to the results of the previous couple years, this was a disappointing result for the team. However, URI Head Coach Gregg Burke spoke about the fact that with the absence of their top player, fifth-year Bryson Richards, the expectations changed.
“To finish 30 shots out is not where we want to be,” Burke said. “But when you have Bryson out, that’s a big part of it both for his leadership and scoring.”
Something that the team can take solace from is that they improved on their score in each of the three rounds. After shooting 303 as a team in round one, they shot 300 and 295 respectively in rounds two and three.
Aidan O’Donovan, a second-year, followed up a solid performance last week at the Macdonald Cup where he finished tied for 19th with his best performance of the year this week. He struggled to end the first round on Sunday, shooting three-over in his final two holes for a round of four-over (76). But, he was able to bounce back and shot rounds of even par (72) on both Monday and Tuesday. He shot up 25 spots on the leaderboard across these two days. Overall, O’Donovan shot four-over par for the tournament which placed him in a tie for 12th.
Last week, it was a tough final round for O’Donovan which saw him fall out of the top 10. This week was a totally different story as he played better as the tournament went on. Over the last 26 holes, O’Donovan was better than anyone else in the field, shooting two-under.
The team was going to have to get production from some unlikely sources with the absence of Richards, and this week that came from someone making their collegiate debut. Josiah Tong, a first-year, had the second-best finish on the team in his debut, placing in a tie for 28th at 9-over par. Tong came out firing in his first ever collegiate round on Sunday, shooting a two-over (74) which saw him just four shots off the lead. He struggled more in rounds two and three, shooting a three-over (75) on Monday and a four-over (76) on Tuesday, but Burke was still very satisfied with what he saw in Tong throughout the week.
“To finish second on the team in your very first tournament is very impressive,” Burke said. “He makes good decisions out there so he’s never going to be that far off the beam, but he did a wonderful job for his first tournament.”
Another first-year on the team, Tony Liu, showed improvement every day throughout the tournament. He shot two-under in his first two holes of round one, but after that it was an immense struggle. Liu ended up with a first round of six-over (78), but was able to turn his tournament around in round three when he shot a round of even par (72). This final round moved him up 13 spots on the leaderboard, for a finish of tied 34th. Burke was extremely impressed with Liu’s final round in particular, and sees some incredible potential for Liu as the team moves forward.
“I don’t think he made one bad decision in his final round,” Burke said. “He is growing by leaps and bounds and has the potential to be as good as anyone we’ve ever had.”
Fourth-year Geronimo Narizzano finished at 12-over for the week and a tie for 39th. Narizzano was able to finish his week strong, shooting one-under across his final eight holes. Burke was impressed with the mental fortitude he showed throughout the week to find a way to put together a nice final round.
“He showed that grittiness that we saw when we recruited him,” Burke said. “I’m very pleased with what Geronimo did.”
UConn ran away as winners of the tournament, finishing at four-over as a team and 11 strokes ahead of anyone else. Siena College (+15) and Boston College (+17) rounded out the top three teams.
Looking ahead for the Rams, they will get this weekend off before traveling to Milford, Connecticut for the Sacred Heart Fall Classic on Oct. 15 and 16. Burke is looking forward to this tournament and feels the team is close to being able to contend for some tournament wins.
“We hope to get back on track and contend for tournaments again,” Burke said. “I know that guys have it in them, so that tournament is something to look forward to.”
The Men’s Golf team will look to continue to build on these final couple of days here at the UConn Invitational, and hope to continue to get production from some of the younger talent on the team.