Freshman Patrick Shanahan finished in a tie for third individually and senior Jason Bronstein shared seventh place as the golf team finished fifth at the Bon Appetit Fall Shootout Monday.
Going up against a brood of local and regional foes, the Yellowjackets shot 314 on day one and 318 on day two, leaving them in the middle of the pack with a cumulative 632. UR finished two strokes behind host Nazareth College, which placed fourth. Susquehanna University won the nine-team tournament with a score of 626. Mid-Atlantic heavyweight Allegheny College came in second with a 627 and St. John Fisher College rounded out the top-three after shooting 629.
Sunday’s opening round was played at Blue Herron Hills Country Club while final day action took place at Irondequoit Country Club in Pittsford.
Nearing the conclusion of an extraordinary freshman campaign, Shanahan continued to dominate the field. After shooting a four-over 75 on the first day, he misplayed several shots on the green on Monday, which lead to a 78.
“Patrick was not putting well at Irondequoit, which was the major reason for his relatively high score on Monday,” Johnson said.
Bronstein also fared well on Sunday but struggled to keep pace on the second day. The co-captain’s Monday struggles stemmed from problems with his driver, according to Johnson.
Coming in tied for 17th was senior Dave Masters, who carded a 159. Junior Andy Salvatore finished with a 165 and freshman Joe Derigo shot 166.
At Irondequoit, Salvatore made a hole-in-one on a par three fourth hole that Johnson described as, “very difficult.” The shot traveled approximately 215 yards and landed on an elevated green before dropping into the cup. It was the first career hole-in-one for Salvatore, who used a three-iron.
“We can chalk our result up to just one of those tournaments where we weren’t as sharp as we’re capable of being. We didn’t play up to our potential,” Johnson said. “But I fully expect that this just a small detour in our successful fall season and that we’ll bounce back next week.”
The team will finish up its fall season next weekend at the Nike Ocean City Collegiate Classic at Eagles Landing Golf Course in Ocean City, M.D.
Many of the same Mid-Atlantic rivals will tangle with the Yellowjackets in Ocean City, as the schools vie for NCAA Tournament recognition.
“Ocean City is an important tournament. This is an opportunity for us to go head to head against teams in our region,” Johnson said. “It’s important for us to play well and I think the good thing we take from the Bon Appetit was that even though we didn’t play well, we were only six shots out of first place.”
Gerton can be reached at mgerton@campustimes.org.
