Rutgers
Gopher Invitational
Men's Golf Finishes in 3rd of 15 Teams at Gopher Invitational
Sep 21 | Men's Golf
Strong Finish Led by Espenshade (9th Place) and Downes (12th Place)
INDEPENDENCE, Minn. ā The Rutgers men's golf team turned in a strong showing at the Gopher Invitational, closing out the 54-hole event with a team score of +8 to finish third in a stacked 15-team field at Windsong Farm Golf Club.
No. 1 Georgia claimed the team title at -9, with Oklahoma finishing second at -3. Rutgers' third-place finish moved the Scarlet Knights ahead of Cincinnati (+10), Little Rock (+13), Marquette (+14) and West Virginia (+14).
"I was really proud of the way our team finished the second round on Monday," head coach Rob Shutte said. "As competitors, we knew the leaderboard, heading into Monday and knew we could realistically finish as high as third-place by separating ourselves from the pack. We fought till the end and finished strong as a team. We had some players who were familiar with the course and finished with not as many birdies but the most pars of all the teams in the event. The pars took us a long way."
The result capped a steady climb for Rutgers, which entered the final round in podium position after carding an even-par 284 in Saturday's second round ā good for third place on the day. JuniorsĀ Bennett Espenshade and Argyle Downes each fired 1-under 70s to lead the way, with Downes sharing ninth and Espenshade sharing 13th in the round-two standings. Sophomore Lucas Politano added a 1-over 72, while freshman Carlo Melgrati matched that number in the round, and grad student TJ Thompson carded a 78 as the Scarlet Knights held their ground heading into Sunday.
Individually, Espenshade paced Rutgers with a tie for ninth overall at 1-under par, capping the tournament with a final-round 70 (-2). Espenshade's finish marked his third top-ten finish in a row to start the fall season.
"I felt great about my driver in this event, and I think our experience as a team here helped us maintain a steady score," Espenshade said. "We have a talented group of golfers, and we were all feeding off each other. I kept looking back at Argyle (Downes), and I knew we could build off of each other's momentum, especially in the final round."
Argyle Downes was right behind him, finishing 12th overall at even par.
"We have a talented group this season, and I really think if we continue to work together and build the momentum that we can shock the world this year," Downes said.
Full Rutgers Results
- Bennett Espenshade ā T9, -1
- Argyle Downes ā 12th, E
- Carlo Melgrati ā T29, +6
- Daniel Martinez-RegalĀ ā T40, +9
- TJ Thompson ā T45, +10
- Lucas Politano ā T56, +12
The Scarlet Knights will look to build on the result as they continue their fall slate with theĀ Hamptons IntercollegiateĀ hosted by Loyola on Oct. 5.Ā
"We have a team that has a special camaraderie," Shutte said. "You have to understand the amount of hours that the student-athletes spend preparing for a 36-hole round day on Sunday and 18 more holes onĀ Monday, and to see these guys still hanging out and competingĀ against each other as we wait for our flight home tells you a lot about this group. If we find the right blend of critiquing and improving some things while also celebrating what we achieved as a team this week, we have a group that can do some special things this season.
