Senior Brent Profenno (Standish) dropped a 140-yard approach shot to within a foot of the hole and classmate Matt Reid (Cape Elizabeth) made the birdie putt to cap off the pair’s even-par-70 and power the USM Golf team to a victory in the Southern Maine Cup at Sable Oaks Golf Club.
The duo carded the lowest round of the tournament and led the Huskies to their second tournament victory of the season.
On day that was at times cold and blustery, the team used solid scores across the board to outplay the University of Maine at Farmington, the University of New England and St. Joseph’s College.
“It was like three different tournaments,” said Profenno, last week’s conference player of the week. “It started out sunny and then it was like a hurricane and then it ended up sunny again.”
During periods of the tournament the wind howled and a cold rain fell, but it was not enough to cool down the Profenno-Reid team that finished two strokes better than the next team.
Much of the pair’s success can be attributed to their play on and around the greens.
“Today I, especially, did not hit the ball very well,” Reid said. “But we made some putts.”
The team of seniors Ben Loss (Wilmette, IL) and Dave Murphy (Melrose, MA) carded a 73, good for a third place finish, while junior Dave Roberge and freshman Cody Berkowitz finished with a 75. The Huskies total score was a 218. The University of New England was a distant second with 235 strokes while St. Joes and UMF finished 241 and 256 respectively.
The tournament was split into three by more than the weather. With a modified Ryder Cup scoring format in place, the players played in pairs and played the course in six-hole series.
The first series was played in the best-ball format where each player plays their own ball and the best score is recorded. The second set of holes was played in a scramble format where each player hits a ball and they play each play the best shot until the ball is holed. The final session was played as a modified alternate shot where each player hits their own ball off the tee and then the pair alternates until the ball is holed.
It was the final stretch of the tournament, the alternate shot, that separated the Huskies from the rest of the pack.
Over that six-hole stretch the Huskies, as a team, scored 76 strokes, eight strokes better than UNE.
“Because the USM kids play at Sable Oaks and know the difficulty, they probably made some decisions that helped them,” Coach Reggie Grant said of his team’s effort.
The event’s unusual format also afforded Grant the opportunity to pair up his golfers. In game a that is typically played alone, Grant had to take a look at his personalities. By matching up players with similar playing styles he hoped to alleviate some of the nerves – a plan that helped aid his players.
“We thrived off one another and we never got out of control,” Profenno said of his pairing.
Under difficult playing conditions it was small things like pairings and club selection that made the difference. Strong winds forced players to use more club and take a different approach to the golf course.
The team of Loss and Murphy nearly tied the Reid-Profenno team, but Loss’ approach, which was tracking directly towards the pin, fell just short of the green. A long chip and two putts later the team carded a double-bogey.
“It was standard fall, cold weather golf in Maine,” Profenno said.
Reid also collected the closest-to-the-pin award when he stuck his tee shot to 3′ 10″ on the 123-yard eighth hole.
The Huskies hope to carry the momentum from this victory into the rest of their season.
“It’s nice to finally win,” Grant said to a group of his players. “Instead of finishing second or third.”