The first day of the Princeton Invitational, hosted by the
Tigers Saturday at Springdale Golf Club, couldn’t have been a whole lot of fun.
The best of conditions in the Mid-Atlantic region Saturday
was maybe 40 degrees with an intermittent cold rain -- with a stray snowflake now and again -- and a little wind. The
original schedule was for 36 holes to be played Saturday, but that was reduced
to 18 holes and the event shortened from 54 holes to 36 holes.
The terrible conditions didn’t seem to bother Duke much. The
Blue Devils, whose No. 20 ranking in the latest Golfstat rankings is easily the best in the field, had four of the
seven players who broke 70 at the 6,424-yard, par-71 Springdale layout on their
way to a 10-under 274 total that was 12 shots clear of Columbia in second
place.
Duke’s Jake Shuman, a sophomore from Needham, Mass., fired a
6-under 65 to grab a three-shot lead over two of his teammates in the
individual standings.
Max Greyserman, a junior from Short Hills, N.J. and a
product of nearby Peddie School, and Alex Smalley, a freshman from Wake Forest,
N.C., are tied for second after carding 3-under 68s.
Duke's Alexander Matlari, a
junior from Germany who competed as an individual, was one four players tied
for fourth at 2-under 69.
One of those four was Columbia’s Mert Selamet, a junior from
Dublin, Ohio. His 69 was highlighted by his first career ace on the par-3 13th
hole. Selamet and the Lions posted a solid 2-over 286 to lead the rest of the
field.
Harvard and Yale are tied for third at 5-over 289 and host
Princeton and Georgetown are tied for eighth at 292. Penn is tied for ninth at
297 and Saint Joseph’s and Temple are tied for 11th at 301 in the
15-team field.
Harvard was led by Rohan Ramnath, a senior from Weston, Fla.
who was also in that group at 2-under 69. Rounding out that foursome was
Georgetown’s Kevin Jackson, a freshman from Atlanta.
With Princeton and Georgetown in the field, it makes it
another chapter in the rivalry between the Tigers’ Michael Davis and the Hoyas’
Cole Berman. They were Inter-Ac League rivals when Davis was at Malvern Prep
and Berman was a top performer for some powerhouse Haverford School teams. Last
summer they were the finalists in the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s BMW Amateur
Championship at Llanerch Country Club with Berman taking the scheduled 36-hole
final, 6 and 4, to claim his second GAP major crown.
Davis got the best of Berman individually Saturday as the
sophomore led the Tigers with an even-par 71 that has him tied for 10th
in the individual standings. Berman, also a sophomore, shot a 75 and is tied for 38th. But
their respective teams are tied for eighth, so it will be interesting how that
little team battle turns out.
Princeton also got a 1-over 72 from Marc Hedrick, a
sophomore from Encinitas, Calif., and a 1-over 73 from Eric Mitchell, a
sophomore from Winston-Salem, N.C.
It was a little bit of a disappointing day for Temple senior
Brandon Matthews, winner of two of the last three Philadelphia Open titles.
Matthews, the 2010 PIAA champion as a junior at Pittston, had a 77 and is tied
for 73rd. The Owls were led by Trey Wren, a freshman from Suffolk,
Va. who carded a 1-over 72 and is in the group tied for 16th.
Temple freshman Sam Soeth, the former Marple Newtown
standout, competed as an individual and his 4-over 76 landed him in a group
tied for 47th.
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