The Herd turn a corner on the links

Jack Rudick knew what it meant personally. He was surprised to find out how significant his breakthrough victory was for his program.

Earlier this month, the fourth-year Manitoba Bisons golfer strung together 36 holes of excellent play to win by four strokes over teammate Rory Neill at the Augsburg Fall Invitational at Majestic Oaks Golf Club in Ham Lake, Minn.

Rudick not only earned the individual victory, but his 5-under-par finish also helped the Bisons to their first team victory in seven years. With Neill (1-under), Terence Rafferty (6-over) and Ethan Portey’s (9-over) cumulative scores, Manitoba combined for a dominant 12-stroke victory.

For Rudick, it was a long-awaited breakout as a university player.

The now-Glendale member’s last individual victory was at St. Charles’ junior club championship four years ago. He never won another event as a junior and had never finished inside the top-10 in a U Sports tournament.

“I don’t know what it was, but the last three fall events, I couldn’t find my game, and everything was just a disaster — mental game, swing, just like the whole process of everything was just way worse,” Rudick said.

Following a trying summer on the links, he didn’t exactly enter this collegiate season riding a wave of momentum either.

Rudick failed to qualify for the provincial match play championship, missed the cut at the men’s amateur championship and fell short of expectations at the Elmhurst Invitational.

“This summer kind of sucked,” he said bluntly.

Ironically a psychology student, Rudick has admittedly struggled with the mental side of the game for many years.

“I get too stuck in the past, or the future, and bad shots really get to me with poor execution,” he said. “What led me to winning that event was just sticking with a good process and making sure I execute with shots, and obviously staying present is probably the most important thing in golf because one simple mistake can really cause a whole tournament in a downward spiral.”

Rudick has taken some of his learnings from the classroom onto the course, while a few important mental strategies from swing coach Derrik Goodwin have also helped.

It appears to have paid off. Rudick was one of the most consistent Bisons players during the team’s qualifying season, and there was a belief that something was going to go his way sooner rather than later.

“Jack’s a great kid, and he’s been such a hard worker,” said head coach Devon Schade, who was a player when the Bisons last won an individual or team event.

“It’s his fourth year on the team now, and I think he’s finally getting that comfortability in tournaments, and he works so hard in his game, so it’s great to see him finally actually win one, which I was so happy for him. He deserves it more than anyone. I think now he’s got all that confidence in the world now, and I think he’s gonna do really well in the upcoming tournaments.”

Rudick won’t be the only one swinging with confidence — Manitoba has been on an upward trajectory dating back to last season when it established itself as one of the top programs in Canada West, earning its first bronze medal at the conference championship.

It’s been even stronger play from the Bisons to open 2026, as a runner-up finish at the Cougar Cup in Regina preceded their triumph at Majestic Oaks.

Indeed, the program seems to have turned a corner.

“I think previously we didn’t really have the aspiration to win events. I think we were just trying to get good finishes. But now that we actually have won one and have competed in that final group and with the top teams, we know that we can compete with them,” said Schade.

“And that’s the thing, it’s the confidence. Confidence is huge in golf, and I think we have that right now, and we’re just trying to stay committed and always trying to win events now.”

They certainly aren’t short on talent either. Neill won the Manitoba Men’s Amateur Championship this year, while Rafferty, Tyler Polanksi and Ryan Blair all enjoyed strong junior careers before joining the Bisons.

All eight players on the Bisons will tee it up this weekend at the St. John’s Invitational in St. Cloud, Minn., which will be their last event before they try to — at the very least — match their strong outing at the Canada West conference championship in Lethbridge, Alta., Oct. 5-6.

“I think the whole thing that’s driven us to do so well is how competitive we are with each other,” Rudick said.

“We have so much depth and any one of us on any given day can shoot a good score and contribute to the team.”

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