UH competed in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic and took home the team championship by a total of 15 strokes, but junior Kyle Pilgrim particularly stood out during the dominating effort.
Pilgrim shot a career-low 66 on his final round to finish at 5 under par with a total score of 208 to capture the individual title. He said the confidence-building win should foster more success.
“It just happened so fast that I couldn’t even believe it, and it was really exciting,” Pilgrim said. “I think this will open the floodgates for me … I had to play many qualifying matches to get where I am, but it made me a lot more competitive.”
Pilgrim became the 29th player in UH’s illustrious golf history to have a round of 66 or lower. He said he realizes that it doesn’t come easy for anybody to accomplish any goal to be successful, but that he has been progressing on and off the course into becoming a team leader.
“Kyle is a great guy that has been getting better and better every year. It’s so amazing to see how committed he is in every aspect of his life,” said Director of Golf Jonathan Dismuke.
Pilgrim competes off the course, too. He is a Terry Scholarship Program recipient and a member of The Honors College.
Pilgrim helped lead a talented group to its sixth team title under Dismuke, who has been leading the team for five years. When Dismuke arrived on campus, the golf program was ranked No. 159 in the country. It is now ranked among the top 20 in the nation.
“We work hard on our team chemistry and we all get along very well … We have a group of very physically talented young men, but our ultimate goal is to get back to where the University is comfortable, and that’s competing and winning national championships,” Dismuke said.
It’s great to see our golf program back in the top 20 where it should be. It reminds me of the teams from my era. Way to go Coach and players!! Keep revitalizing the UH golf tradition.