As he watched his golf ball nestle behind some trees and his score quickly rise, something within Digneo snapped. A curse word escaped from his lips as he threw his cursed driver at his golf bag in a fit of rage, snapping the aforementioned club in two.

“I was just fed up,” he explained.

Anyone can tell you that Digneo is not a temperamental person, but he and his teammates have reached wit’s end this golf season. On April 10, the Cardinals suffered their second loss of the season against Wallenberg, the first time anyone on the squad had lost two league games in one season.

Senior captain Anurat Rojanaiparat shares Digneo’s feelings of disgust. “I understood the first loss to Wallenberg because it was some of the players’ first time on the course, but the second loss is inexcusable,” he said.

Wallenberg snuck up on the Cardinals during their first match on March 8, beating Lowell by only two strokes. “They got a lot of no-name players on their roster, but they surprise you,” Digneo explained. “Every player on their team is very good.”

The second loss to the Bulldogs is much more troubling. A single loss to a team, especially by only two strokes, can be explained as an anomaly. A second loss by a similar margin, three strokes this time, can be read as a pattern.

Whether the loss stemmed from lack of preparation, lack of focus or simply a lack of a drive to win is unknown, but any of the three reasons should concern the Cardinal leadership.

“The second loss really upset me,” Rojanaiparat said. “I think some of the players got a little cocky after the win against Washington the day before. It’s all in our heads.”

Digneo believed an improving AAA led to the losses. “I don’t think the veterans were ready, because this year we’ve actually had tough opponents,” he explained. “The league is getting better and we weren’t prepared.”

With this statement, Digneo hit upon an even larger issue. For the last decade, Lowell golf has been the “top dogs” in the AAA. They walked onto every course knowing they would win, because that’s what they did the vast majority of the time. The program did not always have the best golfer in the city, but all six golfers were well-disciplined and knew how to win. And for the last decade the Cardinals have captured all but one championship.

But with these two losses, the team cannot help but lose some swagger. The Bulldogs have earned the right to strut onto the course expecting a victory the next time the two teams meet. And though the Cardinals are still confident in themselves, Digneo admits that “Wallenberg is the team to beat.”

Rojanapairat predicted that predominance in league would slip from the Cardinals’ grasp this year. “I knew this year would be a rebuilding year for Lowell,” he said. “I’m not disappointed because I expected something like this.”

But neither the Cardinals nor Digneo are down for the count just yet. Still standing at the sixth hole’s tee, now without a driver, Digneo’s day, like Lowell’s season, seemed to be grim and getting grimmer.

But Digneo taught his teammates a valuable lesson that day – a lesson of perseverance. Digneo reared back his seven-wood and split the fairway with a beautiful drive. He managed to salvage a bogie on the sixth hole and ended the day with 41 strokes, a score good enough to win his grouping. Digneo continued to compete despite a major setback and he hopes his team will do the same.

Lowell has bounced back from the loss to Wallenberg with consecutive wins against Marshall and Burton on April 17 and against Galileo last Tuesday.

The Cardinals hope to get past a tough Washington team on May 2 and ride their momentum into the playoffs.

Rojanapairat cannot wait to face the Bulldogs again in the playoffs or championship, because he believes his team will be better prepared to win. “I know we will be more aware of what we have to do,” he said. “If we play within ourselves and play smart, we will win.”

And with that attitude, one starts to understand that you can’t lose ten years worth of swagger and self-assuredness with two regular season losses.

Digneo was extremely confident when asked whether his team would continue their four-year run as league champions. “Yes, guaranteed,” he answered. “We will all come through as a team in the end.” Remember that Digneo is willing to guarantee a championship, even without his driver.

Come watch the Cardinals try to regain some swagger at 3:30 p.m. next Wednesday at Lincoln Golf Course against a talented Washington Eagles’ squad.