Spider sinks 20 ft birdie putt, ties Richmond for first place in Metropolis Intercollegiate

The University of Richmond men’s golf team tied for first against North Dakota State University in a comeback effort at the Metropolis Intercollegiate Sept. 8 and 9.

The summer sun shone down on White Plains, N.Y. as junior Quin Polin leaned down to line-up a putt on his last hole of the tournament. The Spiders had worked hard to climb the leaderboard after a rough first round. 

Now, the score was dangerously close and Polin knew every shot counted. However, he didn’t know that this shot would be the difference between second place and a tie for first. 

"I wasn't sure," Polin said after the round. "I knew we were tied going into the hole, and I was just trying to beat my NDSU guy. I knew if I made it we would have a good shot."

Across the green, 20 feet laid between the hole and his ball. A deep breath, a back swing, then follow through. 

Rolling. 

Rolling. 

Then, the ball disappeared, sinking into the hole and hitting home. The Spiders’ bid for a victory was a success. 

The start to the contest had not been as glorious. Instead, it was rather rocky. Scorecards littered with bogeys and six double bogeys made for a not so great score. Polin led, carding a 2-over-par while senior Drew Carlin followed close behind with a 4-over-par 74. 

With a team score of 17-over-par, Richmond was 15 strokes behind first place North Dakota State. The Spiders wouldn’t stay trailing for long. Though, fighting back from seventh place is no easy feat. 

"We didn't play our best, but we kept our heads on straight and knew pars were good," Polin said. 

Matching North Dakota State’s 2-over-par first round, UR carded the exact same score in the second round. Sinking more birdies and vastly cutting down on bogeys made for cleaner scorecards and a major overall improvement. 

First-year Lucas Rizo-Patron carded Richmond’s only under-par score of the tournament, a wonderful way to mark his collegiate debut. 

"Shout out to [Rizo-Patron] for really helping the team with some steady play. His 2-under 68 in Round 2 was a big spark for the team," said Head Coach Adam Decker after the tournament. "It was a great start to his college golf career and he learned a ton this week."

The strong showing put UR in the running for the Championship, but the work wasn’t over yet. Richmond was not discouraged with the third place standing whatsoever. No, UR was in it for first place.

Richmond’s 8-over-par in the final round, five shots better than any other team, boosted the Spiders ahead of 36-hole leader Siena and lifted them just enough to catch NDSU.

While the two teams were named co-champions, NDSU took home the first-place trophy by virtue of a better score from their final individual player in Round 3. 

On the Individual leaderboard, Polin recorded a tie for sixth place. He also picked up four more pars than any other golfer in the field.

Also in the top 10, sophomore Carson Baez was in a four-way tie for 10th. He played the par 5s in 2-under par during the event, tied for the best of any golfer in the field. 

"It was a nice way to start the year," Decker said. "The golf course was awesome and played extremely difficult. The guys played solid after a rough start in Round 1. We talked about not trying to do too much in the final round. The wind was going to be up and the hole locations were very tough. The guys did a nice job staying patient and staying present."

Next up, Richmond will head to Farmington, Pa. to compete in the Nemacolin Collegiate Invitational Sept. 29 and 30. 

Contact sports editor Abigail Finney at abigail.finney@richmond.edu.