This past week the UR golf team participated in the Bon Appetit Fall Shootout, a two-day tournament that was co-hosted by Nazareth College and St. John Fisher College. The Yellowjackets placed fifth in the eight-team field. With a total of 633, they finished 30 strokes behind the tournament’s winner, Allegheny College, whose 603 was too much for the rest of the teams to handle.
Despite the disappointment of the team’s finish there were a few individual highlights. The best performance by the Yellowjackets came from senior Mike Quijano, who finished the tournament tied for third place, with a two-day total of 151. On the second day, Quijano’s impressive 72 was the low round of the day by three shots. The second best finisher for UR was senior Scott Clyde, whose 158 was due in part to a solid opening day performance, shooting a 75. Third for the Yellowjackets was junior Dave Masters whose 79 and 80 on the first and second days, respectively, indicate a return to his usual form.
The inconsistency of play is what is really hurting the team. To go out and shoot one low round is great, but unfortunately in these tournaments you need to show up and perform two days in a row. According to Masters, “After the tournament, the team was frustrated, but we’re looking for a way to do things better.”
Quite simply, the field was not too strong for the Yellowjackets, but when you are not playing your game it is difficult to win. “The team as a whole is playing very hard, but we just aren’t getting the results that such hard work deserves,” head coach Rich Johnson said.
The team will have one more chance this fall for everyone to put it all together and reap the just rewards of their hard work.
“A better finish [in the Nazareth tournament] would have helped our chances for making nationals, but our finish at the next tournament will be even more important,” said Masters, who continued, “If we want to be successful we will have to put our disappointment behind us and focus on the next tournament.”
For the final tournament of the fall, UR will travel to Ocean City, Md. on Oct. 26 and 27 to compete in the Western Maryland College Fall Invitational. Here they will run into most of the top teams in their region and a good performance will be necessary. If the Yellowjackets can perform well here, it may just give them the boost that they need to enter the off-season with a positive outlook for their spring campaign.
Fitzsimmons can be reached at afitzsimmons@campustimes.org.
