That all changed over the course of 118 holes in four days at Bull Valley Golf Club.

The rising senior on the Cardinals men’s golf team emerged victorious in the 101st CDGA Amateur Championship, clinching his win of the Association’s oldest event with a 5-and-4 defeat of Brett Tomfohrde (Chicago / Butterfield CC) in Thursday’s 36-hole finale.

“Sitting on the sidelines has been tough, but it’s been rewarding to get this win to prove that I can play and perform under pressure,” Tenuta said after hoisting the Joseph G. Davis Trophy.

“Just seeing all the names on the trophy, and now to add mine – I haven’t really won a whole lot in any events here, and to win this one is pretty big,” Tenuta added. “It’s a great honor to win that and add my name to it.”

Tenuta never trailed throughout the entirety of the title tilt, which was preceded by 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying on Monday and three rounds of matches Tuesday-Wednesday. With the match tied through five holes, Tenuta seized control by winning five of the next seven. The decisive stretch was fueled by a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 7 and short birdies on Nos. 8 and 9.

“It just was putting together good shot after good shot after good shot,” Tenuta said of his surge. “Fairways, greens – kept the momentum going.”

A tweak on the range by Tomfohrde – putting the ball further forward in his stance – during the break between 18s and a one-hour, 18-minute weather delay early on in the second round allowed the 30-year-old to stay within reach. The event’s medalist carded six birdies over the course of the match’s final 13 holes to put pressure on Tenuta.

“I tried to be re-energized and tried to find something on the range I could build off of, and I did find something that I built off of,” Tomfohrde said. “I think I made it a little bit of a match and we had a good second 18.”

Despite Tomfohrde’s resurgence, Tenuta continued to control the match. He equaled red numbers from Tomfohrde on Nos. 21, 27 and 28 before closing it out with a par No. 32, Bull Valley’s 14th.

“[Brett] was playing well,” Tenuta said. “He wasn’t going to slip up, so I knew I had to do the same thing and just continue the level of play I was playing in the morning.”

“[Nick] is a tough opponent to play against when he’s making birdies and not messing up,” Tomfohrde added.

Tenuta hopes the marquee victory will springboard him to further success in the summer and his senior season donning the Cardinal Red and Black.

“Hopefully I can carry this on the rest of the summer and into the college season,” Tenuta said. “Overall, it just validates my opinions and my feelings about my game.”