The University of Rhode Island men’s golf team placed fourth in the Atlantic 10 Championship after a rollercoaster season.
The Rams ended day one of the tournament in fifth place, led by second-year Tyler Bruneau, who shot one under par through round one.
“We really didn’t play well on Monday,” URI head coach Gregg Burke said. “We hit a lot of bumps, but we came roaring back.”
As a team, Rhode Island shot eight over in the opening round, trailing the leading Virginia Commonwealth University, which held an 11-stroke lead.
Going into day two, second-year Luke Stennett led the way for the Rams, shooting three under par with a score of 69. Stennett was able to put five birdies and an eagle on his scorecard, jumping him into eighth place on the individual leaderboard for the tournament. Bruneau also continued his great week, shooting two under par.
“Holes seven, eight and nine are the three toughest holes on the golf course,” Burke said. “No one had a better score than us; we went three under on those holes.”
On the final day of the tournament, Rhode Island played one of its best rounds of the season.
The Rams shot five under par in the final and were able to climb one spot on the leaderboard for a fourth-place finish.
Fourth-year Aidan O’Donovan helped lead the way for the Rams, shooting five under par. O’Donovan shot four under on the back nine of the course, helping achieve a 67 on the day. O’Donovan and Stennett both placed as top ten individual performers.
Overall, the Rams finished two over par with several top individual performers. All five Rhody players finished the tournament inside the top 33.
“We played some of the best golf in my 15 years at URI,” Burke said.
The Rams’ season is not quite over, however, as Rhode Island looks to receive an invite to the National Golf Invitational for one last chance to compete on the season.
“We’re hoping to be selected to the National Golf Invitational,” Burke said. “I’m hoping the committee feels that we are worthy of going to the postseason again. I believe we are, and it would be great to bring these five guys to another tournament.”
The Rams will have to wait and see if they can make it out to one last tournament, but the program still had a lot to appreciate during the spring season.
“We have had the firepower, and we have had it all year,” Burke said. “We are losing a player this year in Aidan O’Donovan, who has started most of the last four years, and has brought the team together. But we have two very good recruits and three players who didn’t play much this year who have worked really hard. I have the expectation that we will be even better next year.”
Rhode Island will be back in the fall for another season, with hopes of taking home an A-10 Championship.
