St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Men's Golf Fall Season Review
11/11/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Nov. 11, 2013
QUEENS, N.Y. - The St. John's men's golf team wrapped up an impressive fall season last week, earning its third top-five finish with a fourth-place total of 882 (+18) at the Cobra-Puma Invitational in Miromar Lakes, Fla.
The fall season seemed to start out slow for the Red Storm as the squad finished ninth with a 17-over 857 on its home course at The Doc Gimmler on Sept. 14-15, but things would turn around quickly. After missing senior captain Ryan McCormick for the first event, the Red Storm headed to the West Coast for the St. Mary's Invitational in Montery, Calif. where it finished in fourth place finish with a three-day total of 887 (+23).
With two tournaments in the books, head coach Frank Darby and his squad headed out to Erin, Wis., for one of the most prestigious fall tournaments in college golf at the Erin Hills Intercollegiate. With five nationally ranked programs lining the field, the Red Storm rallied together for one of its best tournament finishes of the fall to take a sixth place finish with a four-over 868. McCormick's impact was felt as he led the pack with a four-under total of 212 to earn second place behind Stanford's Patrick Rodgers who was ranked fourth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) heading into the event.
Returning to the East Coast, the Red Storm traveled to Huntingdon Valley, Pa., for the Temple Invitational and carded 15 birdies between the team's five golfers in the second round to finish the two-round event in second place with a 577 (+17).
Coming off its second place finish, the Red Storm traveled south for the Cobra-Puma Invitational in what would be McCormick's final fall round of his collegiate career. With a second place finish already in his pocket earlier in the fall, McCormick stepped up with the best performance of his collegiate career as he carded a 12-under, three-round total of 204 to tie for first place overall and earn his first-ever collegiate title.
The impressive finish for the senior captain came with a pair of career-best individual rounds as he carded a 67 (-5) in both the first and third rounds, snapping his former career-best mark by a stroke. Throughout his four events, McCormick finished eight of his 11 rounds under par and was the only golfer in the field to finish all three rounds below par at the Erin Hills Intercollegiate. With the help of his career-best rounds, McCormick finished the 2013 fall season with a stroke average of 70.91 to lead the Red Storm.
Junior Dylan Crowley had an impressive fall for the Red Storm after finishing third at the Temple Invitational with a two-round total of 140, rounding out the fall season with a 72.0 stroke average and a pair of top-10 finishes.
The Red Storm found quick help from a pair of transfers this fall in Obe Ayton and Ben Ludlam finished their first season at St. John's with stroke averages of 73.07 and 74.07, respectively. Ayton stepped up for the Red Storm midway through the season, finishing in 12th place overall with a 216 (E) at the Erin Hills Intercollegiate and a fifth place finish in the Temple Invitational with a 142 (+2). Ludlam remained a consistent piece for the Red Storm this fall, finishing all four of the three-round events within three strokes of each other and shot his season-best round in the final round of the season with a 70 (-2) at the Cobra-Puma Invitational.
Junior Mitch Hadfield and freshman Sean Byrne served as an interchangeable part of the Red Storm's five-man rotation, finishing the fall season with stroke averages of 76.36 and 78.0, respectively, as each competed in four events. Hadfield matched a career-best round of 68 (-2) in the final round of The Doc Gimmler where he competed in an individual. Byrne also carded the best round of the season in the final round of The Doc Gimmler with a 69 (-1), marking a strong start to his young career.
South Mountain Community College transfer John Russo also found his career-best in the final round of The Doc Gimmler, carding a 69 (-1) in his only event on the five-man rotation. Russo finished the fall with a stroke average of 78.13 through three events, two of which were competed as an individual.
The Red Storm finished each event in the top-10 of its field including three top-five finishes highlighted by a second place finish at the Temple Invitational on Oct. 13-14. Coach Darby and the St. John's men's golf team will return to action come early March for the opening of the 2014 spring season.
For all the latest news on the St. John's men's golf team, log on to RedStormSports.com and follow the team (@StJohnsMGolf) on Twitter. You can join the conversation with the hashtag, #SJUMG. If you would like to be added to the St. John's Men's Golf mailing list, send an email to stjcommunications@stjohns.edu with the subject line "Men's Golf Mailing List."
