TOWSON, Md. – Long before Hayden Rousselle tied his career low with a two-under 70 last weekend at Turning Stone, the Towson University sophomore thought playing golf was impossible.
 
Now, the sport management major who competes with unrelenting passion and intensity has higher aspirations.
 
"For me, golf was the sport that seemed impossible to play," Rousselle said. "I had never played golf before. When I played with my friends, they told me I wasn't that bad and should play more often. I liked playing and enjoyed being outside so naturally I began to play more often. I quickly fell in love with the sport and eventually I became nearly obsessed with playing and practicing.
 
"I started playing regularly at 14 years old and started competing around 16. Golf had quickly become my favorite thing to do, I would wake up at 5 am to go to the course and play until sunset. My goal in life is to be a professional golfer. I train every day to get better at golf and it is a dream of mine to compete on the largest stage in the sport of golf, the PGA tour."
 
The hard work, dedication, and confidence is beginning to yield rewards for the affable Rousselle, who has shot 70, in two of his last five collegiate rounds dating back to last season.
 
Rousselle and the Tigers are in action this weekend when they compete in the Doc Gimmler Invitational at Bethpage Red. The 54-hole tournament begins with two rounds on Saturday, Sept. 14 and concludes with the final round on Sunday, Sept. 15.
 
Along with Rousselle, competing for the Tigers this weekend will be Justin Griffith, Jackson Courtney, Jeremy Summerson, and Brad Riley. This will be the first career collegiate events for Summerson and Riley.
 
In the final round of the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate, Rousselle had five birdies. In addition, 16 of his 18 holes were par or better. Over his final 36 holes of this event, Rousselle shot even par, which helped him finish as Towson's lowest scorer and tie for 27th overall.
 
A mental adjustment helped Rousselle finish with a flourish. He realizes that a positive attitude gives him power over his circumstances instead of being controlled by them. It has helped him conquer personal tests.
 
"After the first round, I was able to control my thoughts and the decisions I made to better attack the course for the best result I could achieve," Rousselle said. "My goal was to calm my mind while over the ball and think about things other than golf in between shots. It was in the beginning of the second round that I was able to start regaining control over my game.
 
"Keeping my mind calm and clear I was able to focus on my goals for the coming round and recover from the round before it. During my final round my only goal was to go out on the course and relax, keep a level head and grind through the round no matter how I was playing." 
 
Over the summer, Rousselle practiced and trained as much as possible. He competed in the U.S. Amateur Championship Qualifier at the UNC Finley golf course, but had a tough day on the course, which resulted in not qualifying for the event.
 
Last season, Rousselle competed in two events and finished with a 76.50 average over four rounds. He helped Towson tie for first at the Towson Spring Invitational where he tied for 22nd overall (150 +6). Rousselle offered a glimpse of his potential when he shot at the time, a collegiate career low of 70 during the second round of the Towson Spring Invitational. Rousselle was Towson's top finisher at the Lonnie Barton Invitational.
 
"Over time I have seen more of my triumphs and shortfalls on the course," Rousselle said. "Golf is mainly a mental sport. One can be easily exposed when not thinking clearly. After only playing a few times, I had gotten to see that for the lowest score possible, I have to play with a semi-careless blind confidence. Obviously, I would care where each and every shot went but, the difficulty with golf is sometimes you can care too much and end up with a bad result.
 
"Training the amount that we do makes us extremely motivated to do well which at times can improve but can also harm your score. I've found that for me to play my best I have to train until I can't anymore and when it comes time to play, let go of all care for score and just let my mind be clear." 
 
Rousselle spends most of his free time away from school or golf course with friends and family. He loves to go fishing, boating and traveling. In addition to golfing this summer, Rousselle also brought the Travel Channel to life by visiting Switzerland and Germany. In addition, he also had a blast fishing down in South Carolina and going on road trips with close friends. 
 
A native of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Rousselle has enjoyed Towson and learning under third-year head coach Mike Larkin.
 
"I haven't been at Towson very long, but so far, I've loved it," Rousselle said. "I have met so many new and amazing friends, professors and coaches and have learned so much being here. Coach has been a mentor. He has taught me a lot on how to take more action in my life, not waiting for something but rather going out and getting it yourself. He consistently pushes to improve our team and drives us all to be better on and off the course and always pushes us to get the best out of ourselves and our college experience."
 
Towson will be challenged by a strong field of teams that includes St. John's, Rhode Island, St. Peter's, Hofstra, Manhattan, La Salle, Lafayette, Yale, Lehigh, Navy, Florida Southern, Holy Cross and Johnson & Wales.
 
Following this tournament, the Tigers will play in the Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational at the Pete Dye Golf Course on Monday, Oct. 8 and Tuesday, Oct. 9.
 
TIGERS IN THE COMMUNITY
The Towson University athletics department deems community service as one of its highest priorities to give back to the Greater Baltimore area.
 
For the seventh consecutive year, the department exceeded 10,000 hours of community service to the Greater Baltimore region, finishing with 11,162 hours of community service in the 2018-19 academic season.
   
Towson ranked #1 nationally for community service and won the 2018 National Championship for Community Service through the Helper Helper NCAA Team Works Competition.
 
Towson had a 97% participation rate, attended 118 community service opportunities and volunteered with 19 organizations.
 
Towson won the 2018 Volunteer of the Year Award from Susan G. Komen of Maryland.