The men’s golf team kicked off their season at Boston College for the Red Bandana Invitational. The tournament honors Welles Crowther, a former lacrosse player for Boston College, who heroically saved lives during 9/11 and was seen wearing a red bandana when rescuing survivors. It is believed that he saved 18 lives on that day.
Coaches and members of the men’s golf team pose for a photo.
Contributed by Josh Smith
The Pioneers placed second at the tournament, and they were led by underclassmen.
First-year Brody DiBeneditto finished in third. DiBeneditto earned a one-under 71 on the second day of the event, helping him move up three spots in the rankings.
Also helping the team was sophomore Ronan Mooney. Mooney finished in sixth place, starting the season strong once again. Last year, Mooney finished fourth at the Red Bandana Invitational.
“It’s definitely an approach player’s course, so the players who are better with their approach game, they’ll shine a bit more at this course, which I feel like is my strength,” said Mooney.
While the course may favor Mooney and his playstyle, his coach sees it as improved play.
“He’s matured a lot since last year. I think his game is kind of rounding out, he’s understanding the different shots he needs to hit and then pulling them off,” said Head Coach Matthew McGreevy. “This year, he’s putting a little more thought into his shots and using the information he’s got to the best of his ability.”
“I think that I have a lot of room to improve, and knowing that I can finish this tournament not having my best stuff but still placing well, it gives me a lot of confidence going forward in being able to improve my game and my mental side of it,” said Mooney.
Aside from Mooney and DiBeneditto, the team had a strong showing. James Bradley and Robby Zyskowski III placed 16 and 17, respectively, and Andrew Hahn and Sho Suzuki both placed in a tie for 20.
Suzuki climbed 14 spots on the leaderboard after a great round three, in which he shot 73 (+1).
The team’s depth, finishing close together, benefited the team greatly, thanks to players like Bradley, Zyskowski, Hahn and Suzuki.
“I think it’s going to be crucial to our success,” said McGreevy on the team’s depth. “From this year to last year, our depth has improved substantially. I think that’s going to show in tournaments later in the fall and even into the spring.”
The team is happy with where they finished at the tournament, and credits their success to their hard work.
“It kind of gives them that affirmation that what they did all summer and what we did in preseason paid off,” said McGreevy. “It’s going to get them excited to attack the tournaments for the rest of the fall.”
The goal is clear for the Pioneers.
“We really want to work hard to try to get back on top of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in the spring,” said McGreevy.
The Pioneers will return to the course this Saturday, Sept. 19, in Seekonk, Mass. to compete in the Ryan T. Lee Memorial Collegiate Tournament.
Athletic Communications contributed to this article
