The Fordham golf team visited Bull’s Bridge Golf Club in South Kent, Conn., this past weekend to participate in their second event of the fall season, the Hartford Hawks Invite.

The Rams finished 12th out of 16 schools who participated, one spot above La Salle University and one below Fairleigh Dickinson University and Hartford University.

Senior P.J. O’Rourke continues to lead the charge for this Rams team. After an excellent meet at the Ryan Lee Memorial, shooting par or lower in both matches, O’Rourke was the highest placed Ram in back-to-back weeks. He followed up his 18th place finish last weekend placing 32nd at the Hartford Hawks Invite.

Along with O’Rourke, sophomores Chris Konefal and Jake Mrva were the only Rams to par a match with Konefal doing it twice with a 70 in round one and a 71 in round two.

A name to keep an eye on is sophomore Jake Mrva. The Massachusetts native improved after each round. Mrva started competition shooting a 75 in round one. He continues to shoot in the lower to middle 70’s as the sophomore also shot a 73 and a 72 at the Ryan Lee Memorial. Mrva competed in just five events as a freshman, averaging 78.8 strokes. In two consecutive events, the sophomore has taken good steps forward seeing his strokes average drop almost six full points at 73.

Luis Carrera of the University of Central Florida (UCF) ultimately won the invitational with a combined score of 200. He shot below a 70 in each of the three rounds he played. His teammate Johnny Travale finished in a tie for second place with Jared Nelson of the University of Connecticut.
On the team side, Carrera and Travale’s performances were just enough to propel UCF to a victory, with Towson University placing behind them in second.

Next, Fordham travels to Yale University for the Macdonald Cup on Saturday, Sept. 24. After that, the Rams will have around a month to regroup before they take part in the Lehigh Invitational on Oct. 21.