By Sam Belden
In its final tune-up before the Atlantic 10 Championships, Fordham golf notched a third place finish at last weekend’s New England Division I Golf Championships. While the Rams sat in second place out of the five teams after a first round 305, they managed only a 318 on Sunday, making them the only team to regress by more than a single stroke. The venue, Newport National Golf Club, is a well-regarded public course designed by architects Arthur Hills and Drew Rogers.
Although freshman Matt Schiller had the lowest two-round score of any Fordham golfer, he was in the field as an individual player, meaning that his rounds of 77 and 74 did not factor into the team score. Still, his strong play landed him in a tie for sixth on the individual leaderboard.
The Rams’ lowest counting score belonged to senior Drew Dufresne, who sat just one stroke off of the lead after opening with a 74. On Sunday, however, he shot a 78 and wound up in a tie for eighth. A similar fate befell senior Ben Alcorn, who matched Dufresne’s 74 on Saturday but was less sharp in the final round, fading to an 81 and a tie for 14th.
“Golf is a very fickle game,” Alcorn said of his second round. “A couple of poor shots and missed putts can ruin a round. Ultimately, I didn’t perform as well as I should have around the greens.”
He then recounted one of golf’s old sayings: “drive for show and putt for dough.”
Sophomore Oscar Cabanas finished two strokes behind Alcorn to tie for 16th, shooting rounds of 79 and 78 and essentially maintaining his place on the leaderboard over the course of the two days. Freshman Joseph Trim also turned in a middle-of-the-pack finish, opening with a 78 but closing with an 81. Senior Jeff Hogan shot rounds of 83 and 84, good for fifth-to-last among the field’s 36 players; however, his scores were not factored into Fordham’s total, as only a team’s top four scores from each day were counted.
Additionally, freshman James Mongey and sophomore Hugh LaGrotteria joined Schiller to round out Fordham’s contingent of individual players. The former shot rounds of 74 and 79 to tie for 12th, while the latter signed for twin 81s and tied for 26th.
Rhode Island, the tournament host, was the winner, besting Bryant, its next closest competitor, by a margin of 12 strokes and Fordham by a margin of 28. Rhode Island golfers boasted the top three scores in the field, with medalist Makenzie Denver shooting rounds of 74 and 73 and co-runners up Billy Walthouse IV and Joseph Leavitt just one stroke behind. Nicholas Marotta and Ryan Tombs, both of Bryant, were the top visiting golfers, ending up in a two-way tie for fourth.
With four tournaments behind it, Fordham’s spring season, once described by Hogan as a “sprint,” is about to come to a close.
On Friday, play at the A-10 Championships will commence at Florida’s Harmony Golf Preserve. With the high level of competition in the field, the Rams face a tall task, but Alcorn believes that his team has a chance to turn some heads.
“Southern teams like VCU and Richmond bring a lot of solid competition to the field, but we’re up to the challenge,” he said. “I’m confident in the entire team’s abilities, and
I expect us to play our hearts out and wear our Fordham colors proudly and with decorum.”
Although the main focus of the week will be trying to go low, this tournament has a special significance to the team’s seniors. It will be the last time that Hogan, Dufresne and Alcorn will compete as Fordham athletes.
“Jeff, Drew and I will enjoy every moment during our last competition as Fordham Rams,” said Alcorn.
They will enjoy it all the more if the Rams are able to keep pace with the rest of the deep A-10 conference.
