GOLF: Bloom wins Bowdoin Invitational
by Adam Rosen
When golf team member Lee Bloom '10 found himself one stroke under par heading into the 18th hole on the first day of last weekend's two-day Bowdoin Invitational, he knew he had been playing well. He finished the 18th hole with a 30-foot birdie and found himself atop the tournament leaderboard. One day later, that is exactly where he would stay.
Though the Judges finished third out of 14 teams in aggregate score, it was Bloom who stole the show, winning the individual tournament by shooting a two-day total of one-over-par 145-a two-under-par 70 Friday and a three-over-par 75 Saturday-and becoming the first Brandeis golfer ever to win the Bowdoin Invitational. Brandeis finished with a two-day total of 634 strokes, behind Husson College, which shot a collective total of 599, and St. Anselm College, a Division II team, which finished with 614 strokes.
Bloom, who shot just his second career round under par last Saturday, used his experience from last year's one-hole playoff loss at the Jack Berry Massachusetts Institute of Technology Invitational to keep himself focused.
"Last year gave me experience," Bloom said. "I sort of had a little knowledge of how I needed to play coming down the stretch, so it gave me a little extra boost."
Bloom, who did not have any birdies at the season-opening Trinity Invitational Sept. 6-7, finished the weekend tournament with 6-3 on each day.
"He's hitting with a lot of confidence, so that makes it easier to play," coach Bill Shipman said. "His swing is very consistent; he's hitting the ball straight. He has no fear."
Bloom, who finished four strokes ahead of the runner-up from Husson, said the secret to his success is maintaining such stability.
"It's all about just hitting the ball the same every time and staying consistent and staying within yourself. Not trying to do too much."
Aaron Cusato '12 said such consistency is something he would like to use as a model for his own play.
"His consistency is what I want to be like. Even if he's not hitting the ball good or not doing something good, he still scores good, so watching that helps me try to be more consistent," Cusato said.
Charles Sacks '11, who finished second for the Judges for the second consecutive week and in 11th place overall, with a six-over-par 78 on both days, said Bloom's historic performance was "pretty cool to watch."
"It's great that [Bloom's] playing well," said Shipman, "And we're hoping some of the other guys can now start to be as consistent as well."
Cusato finished with a two-day total of 160, shooting eight-over-par 80 on both days. Alex Podell '09, who shot a 15-over-par 87 on Saturday and a 14-over par 86 on Sunday and Kyle Mangan '12, who shot an 18-over-par 90 and a 15-over-par 87 in his Brandeis debut, rounded out the scores.
The Judges had to deal with rain and wind for about the first nine holes on Saturday. In order to prepare for the weather, the Brandeis golfers wore special gloves that were specifically designed to help players grip the club in the rain.
For San Diego, California native Cusato, it was actually his first time playing golf in the rain. Though his score was just slightly worse than his score at the Trinity College Invitational last weekend, he said he had to make a lot of adjustments due to the weather, including hitting harder putts and chips to compensate for the softer greens.
Sacks, on the other hand, seemed to relish playing in the rain.
"I was playing better in the rain and the second it stopped raining I played worse," he said. "I feel like my focus was a little off once the rain stopped. I think the rain kind of gave me this little boost. It was really interesting."
The golf team will next compete at the Nichols Quad meet in Dudley, Mass. Friday at 2 p.m.
