Junior John Casey led the St. Thomas Aquinas men’s golf team to their second straight tournament victory at the first annual Nyack Fall Invitational. Casey paced the Spartans to a Day 1 team score of 297.

After starting his day with two quick birdies, Casey had his only major blemish on the day with an errant tee shot on the 8th hole resulting in a triple bogey to put him 1-over par. He promptly birdied the next hole to make the turn at 36 (E). With one birdie and one bogey on the back nine, Casey finished his day with an even par 72.  Senior Chris Fitzpatrick battled all day, struggling to make putts on the difficult greens at Walkill GC.  Fitzpatrick started his round slow making two bogeys in his first three holes. The senior quickly got his game together and played his final fifteen holes at even par for a day 1 score of 74 (+2).  Rounding out the scoring were junior Mike Gunderson and freshman Tommy Linehan who shot 75 and 76 respectively.  After round one the Spartans found themselves in first place by 3 shots over Dowling College and 4 shots over Concordia College.

With day two came chilly temperatures and 15-20 mph winds. With two teams close behind, the Spartans were focused on playing a solid round of golf. Leading the team for a second straight day was Casey who fired a second consecutive even par round (72).  Casey, who was under par all day, had a similar 1-hole hiccup on the 16th hole.  Entering the hole at -2 for the day, Casey hit an errant tee shot forcing him to take an unplayable lie.  After hitting his third shot, he caught an unfortunate hop that sent his ball off a rock into the woods. Casey successfully punched out but was unable to get up and down leading to another triple bogey.  The junior came right back on his next hole and hit his 7-iron approach shot to 6 feet for a birdie to get him back to even par on his day.  Casey finished the event with a 2-day score of 144 (72-72) earning him medalist honors.  Fitzpatrick had a similar day 2, hitting 15 of 18 greens and struggling with the flat stick.  Fitzpatrick started slowly but managed to put together a solid round of 73 leaving him with a 2-day score of 147 (74-73) good for second place behind Casey.  Mike Gunderson played a solid round of golf shooting 74 leaving him at 149 (75-74) for the tournament good for a T-6 finish.  Rounding out the scoring was freshman Tommy Linehan who fired a second consecutive 76 for a 2-day score of 152 (76-76) and a team score of 295.

The Spartans 2-day team total of 592 (297-295) was 13 shots clear of 2nd place and earned the team their 2nd consecutive tournament victory.  The team is back in action on October 18-19 at the Division II National Championship preview hosted by North Alabama University.