The St. Thomas Aquinas men's golf team won their second event of the spring season with a wire to wire victory at their annual Spring invitational. In the 36-hole event, the Spartans posted rounds of 284 and 288 to shoot a combined 4-under par 572, good for a 23 shot victory over the runner-up, Dominican College. The Spartans played an extremely consistent event, with 75 being the highest score for anyone in the starting five.
During the first round, the team was led by Michael Miranda and Kevin Gately who both carded rounds of 70 (-2). Michael Frizalone and Hamish Houston shot a pair of even par 72's, while senior Brendan Hunter posted a 1-over par 73. The solid team effort was good for a 4-under par 284 and gave the team a 12 shot lead after round 1.
In the second round of play the winds picked up and conditions got extremely difficult. With a few loose swings, the team started their second round 8 over par through the first four holes. Two Spartans who did not start slow were Brendan Hunter and Michael Miranda. Miranda, who was tied for 2nd after his first round, found himself playing with the leader Zach Moore (Wilmington) in his second round. With pars on his first three holes, Miranda was able to birdie the par-four 6th hole. With a bogey on the 8th, Miranda made the turn at even for his round and only 1 back of the lead. With pars on 10, 11 and 12, Miranda was able to birdie the par-5 13th to gain a one shot advantage over Moore. After trading pars on 14 and 15, Miranda lost a shot with a bogey on 16 setting the stage for their final three holes.
After trading pars on 17 and 18, Moore and Miranda stepped up to their final hole, the par-4 1st. After watching Moore's drive go down the left center of the fairway, Miranda stepped up and ripped his tee shot shot a few yards short of the green. With Moore's approach shot settling 8 feet from the hole, Miranda stepped up and stuffed his wedge shot to inches. With a tap in birdie and a miss from Moore, Miranda came back to the clubhouse with a second round 71 and and a tournament total of 141 (70-71).
Hunter had a similar start to Miranda, making par on his first four holes, eventually making birdie on the par-4 7th hole. Hunter got his round to 2-under with a birdie on the 10th. After making bogey on 11, Hunter got that shot back quickly on the 13th. With another bogey on 16, Hunter stepped up to the par-3 17th and hit his tee shot just right of the green. With a wedge in hand, Hunter holed his chip getting him back to 2 under for the day and 1-under for the tournament. With 3 holes left, Hunter managed to par the 18th and make consecutive birdies on #1 and #2 to card a 4-under par 68. His 36 holes score of 141 (73-68) left him tied with Miranda for medalist honors.
Sophomore Hamish Houston started his round with consecutive bogeys, but managed to follow that up with back to back birdies. Houston managed to settle in, scattering a few more bogeys and birdies, eventually posting a round of 74 for a total score of 146 (72-74) good for a 9th place finish.
Kevin Gately had an up and down round, managing to bounce back from two doubles to card a final round of 75 while Michael Frizalone had a strong finish after a difficult start, posting a round of 75 as well. Gately's 145 (70-75) and Frizalone's 147 (72-75) were good for a 7th place and 11th place finish respectively.
The team's final round score of 288 was 8 shots better than Dominican and led to a 23 shot victory. The Spartans are back in action this weekend at the University of Connecticut "Til Duty is Done Intercollegiate."