Men’s Golf broke out their spring opener in Arizona earlier this week at the Loyola Intercollegiate tournament. The team started play on Sunday, Feb. 16 and continued until their last hole on Tuesday, Feb. 18. The Bison finished with an even-par 288 and in 15th place out of 20 competitive teams.
Sunday’s competition opened with an even-par 72 by Jack Hartman ’28. Including his 18th hole, Hartman made three birdies, allowing him to even the day. Teammates Michael Rudnick ’25 and James Key ’26 followed just behind with a 73 and 75. Patrick Pritsios ’28 and James Robbins ’26 both ended the day with a 76, Robbins obtaining his with five birdies. These top performances put the Bison in 17th place with a 296 combined score.
Round two was underway on Monday, and the Orange and Blue continued to show success. Hartman and Rudnick posted stellar performances. Hartman concluded round two with six birdies and went three-under-par 69; these achievements moved him up 17 places to 13th individually on the leaderboard. He started his success with a birdie at the par-three 16th hole. While he took a bogey at par-three eighth, his final seven holes went three-under for a 69.
Rudnick followed suit with a one-under 71 performance, ending with three of his four birdies in his final five holes. This moved him up to 34th, jumping eleven spots. Robbins also had a stellar day, finishing with 77. Pritsios produced a 78, and Key was just behind with an 80. The Orange and Blue finished the second round still in 17th place with an updated team score of 298.
The third round on Tuesday was the best for the Bison. Hartman continued his successful week with a six-under-par 66, tying the second-best round to par in program history. The golfer started with a bogey at the par-three 16th hole, his hardest hole of the day. He hit three birdies in a row after par 18, then birdied again at par-three 8th after four pars in a row. At holes 10-12, Hartman hit another three birdies back-to-back, parring the rest of the day to finish with his 66, placing him sixth individually for the tournament. Rudnick hit another 74, while Pritsios and Key hit a 72 and 77, respectively. These performances combined with Hartman’s one for the books helped the Bison jump from 17th to 15th place for the end of the tournament.
The Orange and Blue will be back to continue their spring season on March 10 and 11 at Appalachian State in South Carolina for their Bash at the Beach tournament.
