La Salle golfer Kevin Lydon makes history in his first collegiate tournament

KENSINGTON, Conn. — La Salle freshman Kevin Lydon made history here this weekend as he shot 10 under par in the first round of the Ryan T. Lee Memorial Collegiate tournament. Not only was this a program-low, but the 61-stroke round set the record at the Shuttle Meadow Country Club’s 105-year-old course.

This was Lydon’s first collegiate tournament.

“I don’t think he realized what was happening when it was happening,” La Salle head coach Scott Yurgalevicz said. “Every time I saw him it was just good shot after good shot.”

Lydon had 11 birdies on Saturday, including one on each of the last five holes. His three-stroke 18th hole — according to Yurgalevicz — was almost an eagle.

“[The ball] was one rotation short of the hole,” he said.

If Lydon had sunk that putt, he would have been just the 16th college golfer to ever shoot 60. None of the 15 members of 60 Club hit their personal-low in their rookie season, at least tying Lydon for the best score ever by a freshman.

On Saturday, the rest of the La Salle team hit three over to round a score of 277, which set a new program record for team score.

Sunday’s round didn’t prove as magical for Lydon as he shot five-over to finish the 36-hole tournament at five under par. Despite his subpar second day, he still finished tied for fifth individually.

“It’s funny when you’re standing there and you’re like, ‘Alright, Kev. You know that was the best score ever. Tomorrow might not be as good,’” Yurgalevicz said of his Saturday night pep talk. “‘Temper your expectations.’”

As a team, the Explorers shot three-under on Sunday to close out the tournament at 10-under par 558, good enough for third place.

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Yurgalevicz recruited the Doylestown native from Central Bucks West High School. La Salle “got a glimpse” of Lydon’s abilities at the Philadelphia Amateur Championship last summer. The match play tournament saw a knockout style of play.

“The first round he beats a D1 golfer from some other part of the country and then the next round, he beats a D1 golfer from Liberty, and he gets to the next round and we started going, ‘something special is happening here,’” Yurgalevicz told The Inquirer. “I think he made it to the Elite Eight or the Final Four.”

Although it will be difficult to match his only collegiate performance so far, Lydon will continue to grow as an athlete over the next four years.

“He got that vibe where he actually belongs and once he stepped foot on campus, he belonged,” Yurgalevicz said. “It’s kind of cool to see that transition happen really early in college.”