Category: Fordham Ram Writing

This article initially appeared in The Fordham Ram in September of 2017.

The Fordham men’s golf team came in eighth place at the Hartford Hawks Invitational at Bull’s Bridge Golf Club in South Kent, Connecticut this past Monday and Tuesday. The team shot a nine-over 873 over the course of 54 holes.

This finish comes off the heels of the team’s season-opening victory at the Ryan Lee Invitational in Simsbury, Connecticut the weekend of Sept. 9-10. While Monday’s golf was supposed to consist of the teams playing 36 holes, play was suspended due to darkness after one 18-hole round. Rounds two and three of the tournament were played on Tuesday with an 8:00 a.m. start to accommodate the amount of time it would take for the 20 participating universities to finish play.

The Rams’ eighth-place finish trailed only Central Florida, Seton Hall, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Army, Towson and Boston College. Central Florida ran away with the tournament, winning it by an astronomical 25 strokes.

The Rams responded to the schedule change admirably, as the team followed its first-round 291 with a second-round 290 and a final round 292. Senior Joseph Trim led the way for the Rams after round one, with a four-under 68 after 18 holes; Trim’s Monday round tied with senior James Mongey for the lowest individual round by a Rams player this season. Sophomore and Miami native Tomas Nieves answered his Tuesday round of 77 with a two-under 70 round on Tuesday morning and a three-over 75 on Tuesday afternoon. Senior Matt Schiller fired a seven-over 223 while junior Josh Madarang finished at nineteen-over. The freshman from Sandwich, Massachusetts native Mithran Denbow competed individually and finished at 32 strokes over par, but there was light at the end of the tunnel for him, as he finished the tournament with a final-round 77. The aforementioned Mongey finished at just one over par following his stellar performance at the Lee Invitational, which was the Rams’ first competition of the 2017-18 season. For his exploits at that tournament, Mongey was named Fordham’s Male Athlete of the Week for the week of Sept. 12; Mongey was also crowned the Atlantic 10 Golfer of the Week, which accounted for tournaments taking place through Sept. 13.

The real star for Fordham, though, was Trim; the Fordham senior, originally from Tampa, Florida, shot a five-under 211 over 54 holes and tied for fourth on the individual leaderboard with Central Florida’s Donnie Trosper.

Fordham placed eighth in a tournament that included the University of Central Florida, Seton Hall University, Connecticut University, Boston College, Towson University, Army, Rhode Island, Rider University, Weber State University, Bryant University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Hofstra University, Long Island University-Brooklyn, Sacred Heart University, Hartford University, Fairfield University, St. Francis University (Pennsylvania), St. John’s University, and College of the Holy Cross. The best individual round of the tournament came courtesy of Boston College’s Tyler Kertson, who shot an eight-under 64 on day one. Central Florida’s Juuso Kahlos led all players in the individual standings with a nine-under 207 over three rounds.

Next up for the Fordham men’s golf team is the Quechee Invite, which will be hosted by Dartmouth University and take place this Saturday and Sunday in Quechee, Vermont. After that, the team closes the month of September at the MacDonald Invitational in New Haven, Connecticut.

This article originally appeared in The Fordham Ram in September of 2017.

Before last weekend, James Mongey had never shot a collegiate round below 70 or attained a two-round score below 144. At the Ryan T. Lee Memorial, however, the Fordham junior did both.

The Morristown, New Jersey native led the way for the Rams with a 140 (-4) performance over two days as the team came out on top in the Lee Memorial, which took place last Saturday and Sunday at Hop Meadow Golf Club in Simsbury, Connecticut.  Mongey’s Saturday round was of particular note, as he shot a four-under 68 with eight birdies. In fact, Mongey was one of just two players in an 83-man field to finish the 36-hole Invitational under par, with the other, Yale’s Paul Stankey, finishing at -1.

“The main reason for my individual success was that I putted well from mid-range,” said Mongey. “I gave myself a lot of chances and was fortunate to make a bunch.”

The Rams were leading the tournament by four strokes over Yale and seven strokes over Bentley after day one. But while both of the latter schools faded down the stretch on Sunday, the Rams continued to apply pressure, with three players shooting at or below par. Senior Joseph Trim was incredibly consistent over both days of the weekend, shooting a 73 and a 72 to finish just one-over for the tournament. Senior and Cincinnati native Matt Schiller also finished at one-over for the tournament by shooting 70 (-2) on Sunday. Junior Josh Madarang finished at +4 with a 70 and a 78, while freshman Mithran Denbow finished with a five-over 149. The team finished with a two-under 574 over the weekend and won the Invitational by a comfortable margin of eleven strokes. The team was so consistent, in fact, that it shot the lowest team score on both days of the weekend, with a four-under 284 on Saturday and a two-over 290 on Sunday.

The win marks the Rams’ first team tournament victory in 19 months, with its last team triumph coming at the Coca-Cola Lehigh Valley Invitational in April 2016.

Also competing in the tournament for the Rams were sophomore Tomas Nieves, who shot back-to-back rounds of 74, and junior Kyle Morris, who finished the weekend at +10.  Fordham came out on top of the tournament which included Bentley University, Bryant University, Central Connecticut State University, College of the Holy Cross, Fairfield University, Laval University, Long Island University, Manhattan College, Monmouth University, St. Francis University, St. Peter’s University, Wagner College and Yale University.

The Rams competed in the same Invitational last season and finished fifth, with Schiller tying for second place among individual players.

The next event for the Fordham Golf Team takes place on Sept. 18th and 19th, as the team will travel to South Kent, Connecticut to play in the Hartford Hawks Invite.  The first round of that Tournament will be 36 holes, instead of the usual 18.

As for sustaining its hot start this year, Mongey says that he and the team are trying to keep things simple. “With five tournaments left this fall, we will always be able to draw on the team success we had in this first tournament,” Mongey said.  “It is fun when guys are playing well, so the biggest thing is staying loose and patient and trying to enjoy the ride.”

So far, the team is off to a very good start.  A career-best individual performance over two days certainly did not hurt.