May 06, 2025
Logan Jaeger ’25, club golf champion, will join Providence College’s new varsity team
By Logan Jaeger ’25
By the 14th hole of the National Collegiate Club Golf Association Championship, I was on the verge of taking the lead, but I didn’t know it. An unspoken rule in golf is to never tell your partner if they’re playing well, because then they’ll overthink it and lose their focus. And I was focused on every shot.
The 14th hole of the tournament was a 557-yard par 5 with a 20-mph head-on wind, so I knew I had to keep my weight forward on the tee-off so the ball would fly lower. My first shot went about 250 yards and landed in the center of the fairway. Next, I grabbed my 4 iron and hit it about 190 yards, but in trying to avoid a left-side pond I veered right into the rough. Still, I had a straightforward shot at the pin.
Next, I selected a 50-degree wedge and struck the ball 115 yards, landing within 10 feet of the hole. I had a chance for birdie, my fifth of the day.
“Don’t leave it short,” I said to myself as I stepped up to the ball. The uphill putt was going to break slightly to the left, so I lined up to the right edge of the cup, took a final breath, and hit my line. The ball disappeared into the hole. I was now five under par.
It was April 24, 2024, at the Scissortail Golf Course at WinStar Golf Club in Oklahoma, and I was among 200 golfers representing 26 colleges from across the country for the spring championship tournament. Our club had never won the championship, either individually or as a team, so I knew I was on the verge of something special.
I had flown to Oklahoma late because of a class conflict in Providence, so that morning’s tee-off was the first time I had set eyes on the course. I was playing conservatively, even if it wasn’t apparent from my score. By the end of the first round, along with five birdies, I had racked up 12 pars and one bogey, shooting 68 — four under par. I was tied for the lead and nervous, but excited to play my best the next day in round two.
That night, however, a tornado bulldozed through the golf courses, halting any further play. I woke at 7:30 a.m. to hear that the second round was canceled. By default, I had won the national tournament in a two-way tie.
I couldn’t believe what had happened until I received the winner’s red jacket and my trophy.
My timing was fortuitous. At that moment, Providence College was planning to formally add men’s and women’s golf as varsity DI programs. The public announcement came in August 2024. As soon as I heard about this development, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of.
The possibility of bringing varsity golf back to Providence has been a conversation ever since the men’s program was cut in 2002 to comply with Title IX regulations about equal opportunities in athletics for men and women.
“It was always a vision when I became athletic director because so many young men and women wanted to play golf,” said Steve Napolillo ’98, vice president and director of athletics. “We were the only school in the BIG EAST that didn’t have a men’s team, and it made perfect sense to bring a women’s team for gender equity and Title IX.”
Providence is the 11th and final BIG EAST school to offer men’s varsity golf. I will be one of nine players on the team this fall alongside current club members Kevin Legnard ’24 and Joe Halferty ’27. We’ll be coached by Lou Parente, who previously coached for 15 years at Johnson & Wales University.
“I’m excited to represent Providence College on the golf course,” said Halferty, a finance major from Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.“I really appreciate Coach Parente giving me the opportunity and I’m looking forward to getting to work.”
Legnard, from Bethel, Connecticut, a student in the graduate MBA Program, said, “I’m looking forward to pushing myself and my game to the next level, as well as helping lay the foundation for the golf team’s future success.”
Like Legnard, I’m also staying for a fifth year to earn an MBA and play varsity golf, a longtime dream.
My collegiate years began several thousand miles from Providence at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. I wasn’t good enough to play varsity — their team is one of the best in the nation — and the college didn’t offer a club team at the time. But I was able to train in their premium athletic facilities and hit alongside professional golfers such as Jordan Spieth and Harry Higgs, who train there.
By my second semester, I began looking to transfer to a college closer to my home in New Jersey. PC stood out as a great option academically and because it had a competitive golf club.
I’m excited to be a part of the storied history of the varsity team, which won BIG EAST Championship titles in 1980 and 1993 and produced six BIG EAST individual champions. All Friar athletics are sponsored by Nike, which will give the golf team shoes for the year, while Titleist will provide the golf balls thanks to relations with Acushnet. Our home course will be Agawam Hunt in East Providence, where club coach John Simmons is an assistant pro. Napolillo said the athletic department will invest in at least two golf simulators to allow the team to train on campus. The team also will play at other courses in the Providence area.
Napolillo sounded like he’s keeping his expectations in check while the team builds.
“Just compete,” he told me.
We are ready. After my individual championship a year ago, our club came back in the fall of 2024 to win the national championship as a team, another first for Providence College.
This story was written as an assignment for the Sports Journalism course taught by Stephen Kurczy, M.S., visiting professor of English, in the Spring 2025 semester. Logan Jaeger ’25, from Basking Ridge, New Jersey, majored in finance and minored in economics. He will pursue a master’s degree in business administration at PC next year.
The Fund for Providence College supports the development of academic opportunities like the sports journalism class. A gift through The Fund for Providence College contributes to the success of faculty scholars and the students they teach.
