Led by dominance from second-year Luke Stennett at the top, the University of Rhode Island men’s golf team won its second consecutive tournament to begin the season at the Ryan T. Lee Memorial Collegiate this week.
The Rams were the only group in the 15-team field to finish under par in Wethersfield, Connecticut, shooting four under across the two rounds to end up seven shots better than second-place finishers Iona University and Fairfield University. Not only does the victory keep URI unbeaten in the young season, but it also marks the second straight year that the Rams have won at the Ryan T. Lee Memorial.
Leading the way all week for Rhode Island was Stennett, who cruised to his second consecutive individual title with a score of nine-under, which was four shots better than anyone else in the field. Stennett burst onto the scene last year with eight top-10 finishes and a win during his debut collegiate season; however, he has seemingly found another gear with back-to-back victories to kick off his season.
“[Stennett] has a whole new commitment to his pre-shot routine,” URI Head Coach Gregg Burke said. “He’s more mature, and he’s proving what I thought when we recruited him: the sky is the limit. He is one of the three or four most talented golfers that has ever played at URI in any era.”
Stennett got his tournament off to a torrid start in the opening round on Monday when he put together a career-best round of seven-under without making a single bogey. The highlight of the day came on the par-four 10th hole when he holed out for eagle from the fairway, landing his approach shot around 10 feet beyond the hole and spinning it back into the cup.
Along with Stennett, the Rams got key contributions from fourth-year Aidan O’Donovan and third-year Josiah Tong, who were both inside the top seven on the individual leaderboard following day one.
O’Donovan kicked off his round with a bogey-free front nine of two-under before making two birdies and two bogeys on the back nine to finish his first round tied for third place. With a final round of two-over on Tuesday, O’Donovan ended up tied for ninth at even par, marking his fifth top-10 finish in the past two years.
“I have ultimate faith in Aidan,” Burke said. “In my 15 years, I’ve never seen anyone grow more as a person than Aidan. He’s taken tremendous personal responsibility, he’s accepted accountability, he’s a terrific leader and now he just needs to translate that into believing in himself more.”
As a team, Rhode Island was four under after the opening round and entered the final day of the tournament on Tuesday holding a four-shot lead over Iona. That lead quickly dwindled, though, as the Rams all of a sudden found themselves trailing the Gaels by a shot after 13 holes.
With the tournament on the line, the Rams found a way to retake the lead and create some breathing room by shooting a combined three-under across their final five holes. Despite the victory, Burke expressed concern about his team allowing the rest of the field to close the gap after holding leads entering the final round in each of the first two tournaments of the year.
“You can’t do that on a regular basis,” Burke said. “It’s great to say that you did it, and it provides inspiration later on because if you’re down, you can say, ‘We’ve been here before.’ But there’s nothing like being the frontrunner and finishing the job.”
Stennett was at the front of the pack once again for the Rams in the final round, as he shot a team-best two-under to wrap up another individual victory at nine-under. Dating back to last season, Stennett has now won his last three regular season tournaments. The victory also earned him Atlantic 10 Conference Golfer of the Week honors for the third time in his career.
Another vital piece to URI wrapping up the victory on Tuesday was Tong’s round of one-under, which he capped off with birdies on two of his final four holes. The strong finish moved Tong up into a tie for fifth at one under, giving him the third top-five finish of his career.
Looking ahead, the Rams will have just four days’ rest before playing at the University of Connecticut Invitational at GreatHorse this weekend, where they will also enter as the defending champions.
“We’re everybody’s [this weekend] Super Bowl because it’s a big tournament and we won last year,” Burke said. “My message to the boys this week is simple: on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday next week, we’re not golfers; we’re competitors.”
Rhode Island will look to make it a third straight victory to open its season at the UConn Invitational beginning on Sunday.
