The men's golf team had a busy weekend as it traveled to two states to play two tournaments over four days.
Bruno first journeyed to Philadelphia on Saturday and Sunday for the Big 5 Golf Invitational held at the 6,570-yard Plymouth Country Club. The team finished with a two-day score of 616 (310, 306), earning 16th place in the 21-team field. Furman University captured the team title by eight strokes, shooting a two-day 574.
Ryan Hoskins '13, in his first event, and JD Ardell '13 shared top-finisher honors for the Bears as they both shot 151, ranking them 49th individually. Michael Amato '11 finished the tournament at 156 (79, 77) while Peter Callas '14 came in at 158 (80, 78). Jack Mylott '13 carded a two-round score of 170 (86, 84).
The Bears had no time to rest before returning to action as they traveled to Ellington, Conn., for the Connecticut Cup held Monday and Tuesday. Bruno finished 10th out of 13 squads, turning in a three-round score of 930 (312, 310, 308). Iona took home the title with a combined score of 895.
Head Coach Michael Hughes knows the toll that the travel took on his team, and he said he is not inclined to repeat the experience.
"I really doubt we'll do that again," he said. "Back to back, it was a lot of planes, trains, and automobiles traveling all over the Eastern Seaboard. The guys were great. They sucked it up, and I think it's a testament to the fact that we have some great guys this year."
Though tired from the travel, the Bears had little drop-off as the days went on, as seen through the performance of Callas, Bruno's top finisher. The freshman golfer improved his score each round and earned 21st place individually with a three round score of 230 (79, 77, 74).
"We could have done better, but we showed signs of improvement," Ardell said. "It was a tough weekend playing four straight days and five rounds, but the way we showed up, especially the last day, I feel like we have something to build on."
The Bears will play their final match of the fall schedule at the Northeast Invitational this weekend at the Shelter Harbor Golf Club.
