Sean Dowd remembers coming down the stretch in the 2022 Middle Atlantic Conference championship match his freshman year. He remembers Stevenson’s golf coaches telling the team not to look at the live leaderboard at the Golden Oaks Golf Club outside Alvernia University in Fleetwood, Pennsylvania.
“They came up to us and said, ‘We don’t need to step on the gas here,’” Dowd recalled. “That was them saying we’re in a good spot.”
Dowd then remembers bogeying three of the next four holes. He got nervous.
He remembers the last hole was a par 5.
“I hit a six-iron off the tee, laid up, and we were still in the lead but there’s water near the green you can hit a bad one and get a bad number,” Dowd said. I ended up holing out for eagle from 100 yards out to win the championship.”
He had completed a second round of 69 to push ahead of the pack and win the 2022 MAC men’s title.
“That was insane,” Dowd said. “It was something I never thought I’d do. 100% the best shot of my life.”
Sean Dowd is a unicorn when it comes to college sports.
That was insane. It was something I never thought I’d do. 100% the best shot of my life.
— Sean Dowd
Dowd, now a junior and business administration major, has cemented himself as the leader of Stevenson golf. This past fall, Dowd improved his average score, and sported a 72.5 for the season. Now, Dowd wants to keep his momentum through the tough winter months and into the spring season.
“I can always tell it’s Sean during the winter months out on the course. He’s always got his hoodie on with the hood up” said teammate Patrick Rowland.
Rowland also pointed out that Dowd plays the game the right way.
I admire his talent as a golfer but also how humble he is.
— Patrick Rowland
To his peers, Dowd’s calm demeanor is impressive for a college golfer. The mental side to golf is often overlooked, yet Dowd seems to have a good sense of how to attack it.
“To lock in, before tournaments I like to do the same thing. Just because it’s a bigger tournament, doesn’t mean I change anything. I think that’s super important. I’m a big music guy before I play, but not the hyped-up kind. I like chill music to focus. While I play, I stay super present.”
“I don’t worry about what happened the last hole, just worry about right now, usually works well. My mindset after a bad hole is usually ‘hit the fairway.’ I’m not thinking ‘I need to make birdie here,’ I’m thinking ‘one shot, make a good swing here.’ But if I triple bogey for example, I’m not thinking about playing crazy, just one shot at a time.”
Golf hasn’t always been Dowd’s main priority though. Through high school, soccer was a big focus. Dowd earned three varsity letters at North Granby high school in Connecticut.
But once Dowd picked up a club, he was hooked. The passion for golf has been carried down from his grandpa and father.
“My first golf memory would probably be playing with my grandpa and dad. We’d visit them in South Carolina. I’d always sit in the cart, and one time I decided I was going to play. I ended up really enjoying it. It created a tighter bond with my family. I knew I wanted to go down further south because I couldn’t really play in the northeast until April. I wanted to extend that season a bit. I found Stevenson and it fit what I wanted. It’s got a mix of everything.”
Stevenson seems like it does fit. Dowd’s current roommate Matt Kossey noted that Dowd is a great roommate.
“Sean is always respectful, and his work ethic is shown off the course as well. I find him regularly working hard in our common room when I get home from class. He manages his time well. But we also have a lot of great memories together. For example, on a lot of nights we regularly get our work done early in the evening so we can hop on Fortnite and play for hours.”
Dowd is a competitor and a sportsman. His rare early success as a freshman as well as his consistency since, is a testament to his character and drive.
“I’ve always enjoyed competing. In high school I loved playing soccer just because it gave me the atmosphere that golf doesn’t. I enjoy both the individual aspect of golf and the team aspect of soccer.”
As the fall semester comes to an end, Dowd has his goals set, but admirably, recognizes he needs to remain level.
“I’ve never really considered pursuing golf past college. There are so many guys. For this spring I just want to continue my good momentum from the fall.”
“I just want to control the controllable and post some good scores.”
