As fall sports come to a close, one standout player who has made impressive strides throughout the semester is junior Ryan “Coop” Pamer on the Villanova golf team.
Earlier this month, Pamer closed out the season at home in the Big 5 Championship with his second individual title of the season, shooting one-over 71 and clinching the win by three strokes.
“The [Big 5 Championship] was really cool,” Pamer said. “I made a big putt on hole 17 to stretch my lead to three, which I didn’t know at the time, but I knew I was ahead by a little bit of a margin. So I was just trying to stay calm through the final hole. My teammates let me know that it was pretty much set in stone that I won so that was a good feeling. Having all of them come up to me at the end and just being able to celebrate with them was really special.”
This finish was a fitting bookend for Pamer, who started out the season in late August with his first individual title of the semester at the Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational at Colgate in which he finished one under (71).
“At the [Alex Lagowitz Memorial Invitational], I didn’t really know if I had won or not,” Pamer said. “I don’t really check the scoreboard while I’m out there, but I made a bogey on the last hole and I kind of thought I blew it. So I came off disappointed for sure, until later on, my assistant coach let me know that I did end up winning, and it was just kind of a big relief off my shoulders. I’ve been second a couple of times now, and I’ve just really been pushing myself and working harder to finally get that win.”
After last year’s departure of Peter Weaver, one of the greatest golfers Villanova has seen, there was a large gap in the team as someone needed to fill his shoes. Pamer, who had competed with Weaver for his first two years as a Wildcat, proved that he was the man for the job. In five out of six of the competitions the team competed in this semester, Pamer was the top performer for Villanova, helping the team raise its final placements in each.
“Peter Weaver practices what he preaches,” Pamer said. “He was a great leader on and off the course, keeping everyone’s mind clear if they had bad rounds and was just really supportive with everyone. I’m trying to do the same thing, stay steady while I’m out there, never let anyone see me get too high or too low. Just trying to keep the team in a good head space.”
In fact, some may say Pamer is giving Weaver a run for his money, as he put forth two of the top individual seasons in Villanova history in his freshman and sophomore year and collected more than 11 top-ten finishes over the course of his collegiate career.
All of his hard work also earned him two Big East Male Golfer of the Week titles throughout the season. These are not the first accolades for Pamer, who during his freshman year was the first Villanova golfer to be named the Big East Freshman Player of the Year.
“It takes a lot of patience,” Pamer said. “Golf is a very difficult game, both mindset and physically. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way. You hit a good shot and you get unlucky, or you hit it, and then two holes later hit a bad shot, you’ll get lucky. Transitioning from a freshman to a junior, my mindset has improved a lot. I was trying to put too much pressure on myself. But now it’s just about staying patient, keeping your mind steady, never getting too high or too low, and don’t let anything affect you too much, especially in competition.”
Now as the team takes a break from competition during the next few months, Pamer is looking for new ways to improve his game and get his team back to the Big East Tournament.
“I think as a team, we weren’t too satisfied with how we played in the Fall,” Pamer said. “We had a meeting together to talk about what we can do better and how we can do better. For the spring we want to get at least one team victory for sure. And then we want to compete in the Big East Tournament. We were in the final group last year, and we don’t see a reason why we can’t be there again this year.”
