First-year Luke Stennett has emerged as a star for the University of Rhode Island men’s golf team with eight top-10 finishes in his debut season, and most recently, his first collegiate victory at The Rutherford Intercollegiate on April 13.
Stennett, a native of Portland, Connecticut, joined a Rhode Island team this season that was looking to replace the production of its top player, Bryson Richards ’24, who graduated last year. As a team with seven underclassmen making up their nine-player roster, there were opportunities to be had for the Rams’ incoming first-years. Stennett has taken full advantage of these opportunities, climbing up to the top spot on the team.
“[Stennett] is not just a good golfer; he’s a monster talent,” URI Head Coach Gregg Burke said. “He’s incredibly competitive, but he’s competitive in the best way possible for a golfer. He’s competitive with himself. He’s not competitive with another team, [and] he’s not competitive with opponents.”
Along with Burke, a big factor in Stennett’s decision to come to Rhode Island was the presence of Assistant Coach Brandon Gillis. Throughout his four-year golfing career at Rhode Island, Gillis ’23 won two events with nine top-five finishes.
“[Gillis’] experience is really rare to see as an assistant coach,” Stennett said. “I thought he would be a great person to be able to talk to, especially being there 24/7 right next to us during the tournaments.”
Despite his standout first season, Stennett dealt with some adversity at the beginning of the fall when he failed to qualify for the team’s first tournament of the year, the Wolfpack Intercollegiate, which was scheduled for Sept. 16-17, 2024 before getting canceled due to weather. Since then, he has qualified for all eight of the team’s tournaments, finishing inside the top 10 in every single one.
After three consecutive top-five finishes to end the fall season, Stennett had worked his way up to the top spot in the Rams’ lineup heading into their first event of the spring, the World Golf Village Collegiate on Feb. 24-25. He picked up where he left off from the fall, finishing tied-fourth among the 100-player field and earning Atlantic 10 Conference Player and Rookie of the Week for his performance.
Along with his individual success, Stennett has helped lead the Rams to five victories throughout the academic year, which is their highest total during Burke’s 14-year tenure as head coach.
After being in the heat of contention throughout the year, Stennett entered the final tournament of the regular season, The Rutherford Intercollegiate at Pennsylvania State University on April 12-13, still searching for his first individual victory. He raced out to a three-shot lead after round one, shooting a career-best score of five-under that included a stretch of four birdies in his first five holes.
Stennett held his spot at the top of the leaderboard from start to finish, heading into the final hole of the tournament still holding a two-shot lead. However, the final hole was the toughest one on the course, and Stennett made bogey there in each of the first two rounds. This time, though, Stennett hit the center of the green with his approach, left himself a 25-foot birdie putt and drained it to take home his first collegiate win.
“When I made [the putt], I didn’t realize what just happened,” Stennett said. “I just won at Penn State. It didn’t really sink in until I went over to hug all my teammates, and it was so special.”
As this storied debut year draws to a close, Burke believes that the win is just the beginning of Stennett’s golfing journey.
“Luke Stennett will play on the PGA Tour based on his ability and his competitiveness,” Burke said. “How good he is will be based on when he has 100% responsibility for everything that he does.”
For now, the focus for Stennett and the rest of the Rams is on this week’s A-10 Championship in Orlando, Florida. With the success that both him and the team have had, Stennett entered the tournament with lofty expectations.
“We mean business; I think we’re the best team in the conference,” Stennett said. “We strongly believe we have every opportunity to win, give everyone a run for the championship and I think that’s a really dangerous thing.”
Through the first two rounds in Orlando on Tuesday and Wednesday, Rhode Island sits in fourth place, with Stennett at three-over and tied for 24th on the individual leaderboard. The Rams will look to make a comeback in the final round on Thursday, April 24, as they seek their first conference title since 2004.
