When I spoke to Brian Quinn about his Temple golf team for a
story in Tri-State Golfer during the
break between the fall and spring portions of the 2016-’17 season, you could
tell he liked his group.
The Owls had just won the City 6 Invitational in a playoff
over Villanova. It was a young team, largely comprised of local guys. The
spring might have been a little bit of a disappointment, but Quinn’s team
kicked off its 2017-’18 season with a solid victory in the Cornell
Invitational, which concluded Sunday at Cornell’s Robert Trent Jones Golf
Course.
Temple opened up with rounds of 1-over 285 and 4-over 288
over the 6,904-yard, par-71 Robert Trent Jones Golf Course in Saturday’s
double-round and trailed Yale by two shots. Then, with freshman Dawson Anders,
the Souderton product who claimed the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s Junior
Boys’ title this summer, firing a 3-under 68, Temple posted a final round of
2-under 282 for a 3-over 855 total and a one-shot victory over Yale.
Yale, led by individual champion James Nicholas, a junior from
Scarsdale, N.Y., had a solid final round of 1-over 285, but finished up at
4-over 856 and had to settle for runnerup honors. Host Cornell closed with the
best round of the tournament, a 4-under 280, to finish another shot behind Yale
in third at 5-over 857.
St. Bonaventure also finished strong with a 3-under 281 to
take fourth place at 7-over 859 and a third Ivy League entry, Dartmouth, went
1-over 289 in the final round to finish fifth at 9-over 861.
Temple wasn’t the only Philadelphia area team at Cornell.
Ben Feld’s Drexel Dragons struggled a little in the final round with a 297, but
took sixth at 22-over 874, three shots clear of yet another Ivy entry,
Columbia, which took seventh at 877 after a final-round 292.
Delaware, which opened with a 1-over 289, finished eighth at
883, after a final-round 299 and Penn was another shot behind the Blue Hens at
884 after a final-round 297. Binghamton finished 10th at 887 after a
final-round 303 and Saint Joseph’s finished 11th in the 16-team
field at 888 after its best round of the tournament, a 9-over 293, in the final
round.
And while Anders came up big for Temple in the final round,
it always takes everybody chipping in when a team pulls off a victory in a
16-team field. It was the Owls’ seventh team win in Quinn’s 11 years at the
helm and it was their first win in a field as big as 16 teams since, as the
Temple website put it, at least 2000. So yeah, maybe some time in the last
millennium. Maybe ever.
The Owls were led by John Barone, a redshirt junior from
Dunmore who was steady as can be in registering three straight 70s to finish a
shot behind individual winner Nicholas in second at 3-under 210.
The final-round 68 enabled Anders to finish tied for seventh
at even-par 213 in his collegiate debut. Junior Gary McCabe, the former La
Salle High standout from Collegeville, matched par in the final round with a 71
to finish tied for 30th at 8-over 221.
Trey Wren, probably Temple’s best player as a sophomore a
year ago, and junior Sam Soeth, who represented Marple Newtown at the District One
tournament all four years of his scholastic career, both finished among the
group tied for 33rd at 222.
Wren of Suffolk, Va. had solid rounds of 72 and 71 in
Saturday’s double-round, but faltered with a final-round 79. No problem. Soeth,
who had rounds of 73 and 76 Saturday, picked up his teammate with a 2-over 73
in the final round.
Depth? Check. Quinn entered sophomore Marty McGuckin, the
Inter-Ac League champion as a senior at Malvern Prep two years ago, as an
individual. All McGuckin did was fire rounds of 72, 70 and 72 to finish tied
for 10th at 1-over 214.
I caddied with McGuckin – he was carrying for his former
Malvern Prep teammate Matt Davis in the Christman Cup at Stonewall North – and
then for him – he was playing a practice round at Stonewall’s Old Course for a
U.S. Amateur qualifier with Temple teammate and former Episcopal Academy
standout Joe Chambers – this summer.
I suspect McGuckin reminded his teammates that they would
have won a little easier had he been in the regular lineup.
Nicholas opened with a 4-under 67 and never looked back on
his way to the individual victory. He cooled off a little Saturday afternoon
with a 2-over 73, but finished up with a 2-under 69 to finish a shot clear of
Barone at 3-under 210.
A couple of Cornell guys finished tied for third at 2-under
211, led by Mike Graboyes, the senior from Watchung, N.J. who is the reigning Ivy
League champion and emerged from that U.S. Amateur qualifier at Stonewall with
one of the precious tickets to southern California with a 1-under 139 on a day
that was at times sweltering and at times wet.
Graboyes, who also nabbed an individual invitation to the
NCAA Stanford Regional last spring, had a pair of 69s after opening up with a
73. He was joined at 211 by teammate Chris Troy, a senior from Greenwich, Conn.
who fired a 3-under 68 in Saturday’s second round before finishing up with an
even-par 71 in Sunday’s final round.
Penn’s Josh Goldenberg, a junior from Scarsdale, N.Y.,
finished tied for fifth as he fired a pair of 1-under 70s Saturday and added a
final-round 72 to end up at 1-under 212. He was joined at that figure by St.
Bonaventure’s Nolan Dichter, a sophomore from Randolph, N.Y. who opened with a
3-under 68 and added a pair of 72s.
Joining Temple’s Anders in the group tied for seventh at even-par
213 were Delaware’s Kevin Purcell, a sophomore from Jersey City, N.J. who fired
an opening round of 4-under 67, but cooled off in the final round with a 76,
and Cornell’s Charlie Dubiel, a freshman from Juno Beach, Fla. who finished up
with a 3-under 68.
Two Dartmouth players – James Turner, a freshman from
Gloucester, Mass., and Riley Griffin, a sophomore from Providence, R.I. –
shared 10th place with McGuckin at 1-over 214. Turner finished up
with a 2-under 69 while Griffin posted a 2-under 69 of his own in Saturday
afternoon’s round.
Drexel was led by senior Aaron Fricke, the former Garden
Spot standout who had a strong summer on the GAP circuit. Fricke matched par in
the final round with a 71 to finish tied for 17th at 3-over 216. Junior
Mike Cook, who starred scholastically at Conestoga, fired a 2-under 69 in the
middle round to finish tied for 20th at 4-over 217.
Angelo Giantsopoulos, a freshman from Canada, also had a
2-under 69 in Saturday afternoon’s second round to finish alone in 23rd
at 6-over 219. Giantsopoulos reached the second round of match play at this
summer’s U.S. Junior Amateur at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan.
Another freshman, Ethan Mangum of Atlanta finished tied for
33rd at 222 after opening up with an even-par 71. Sophomore Connor
Schmidt, the former Peters Township standout who had a solid freshman campaign,
struggled at Cornell and finished 89th at 257.
Backing up Purcell for Delaware, Christian Chapman, a
freshman from Victor, N.Y., had a final round of even-par 71 to finish tied for
26th at 220.
Also for the Blue Hens, sophomore Jack Melville, the former
Upper Dublin standout who also made some noise on the GAP circuit this summer,
and Jack Gianniny, a senior from Pittsford, N.Y., finished tied for 58th
at 227. Melville and Gianniny each finished up with a 5-over 76.
Senior Blaine Lafferty, a Cherokee product from Marlton,
N.J., finished tied for 69th at 231 after a final-round 79.
Backing up Goldenberg for Penn, Mitchell Cornell, a freshman
from Incline Village, Nev., carded a final round of 1-under 70 to finish tied
for 26th at 7-over 220. Carter Thompson, a senior from Tallahassee,
Fla., struggled a little in the final round with a 77, but finished tied for 42nd
at 223. Thompson was involved in a 4-for-1 playoff for the final ticket to Los
Angeles in that U.S. Amateur qualifier at Stonewall this summer, but lost out
to former Penn standout Ben Cooley.
Also for the Quakers, Zareh Kaloustian, a junior from
Sherman Oaks, Calif., finished tied for 65th at 229 after a
final-round 78 and Amay Poria, a senior from Morgan Hill, Calif., finished 77th
at 238 after a final-round 82.
Leading the way for Saint Joseph’s was Michael O’Brien, a
sophomore from West Chester, Ohio who finished tied for 17th at
3-over 216. O’Brien’s weekend was highlighted by a 2-under 69 in Saturday
afternoon’s second round.
Junior Ross Pilliod, a Berks Catholic product and occasional
Stonewall looper, and freshman Wills Montgomery, a scholastic standout at
Downingtown East, were among the group tied for 42nd at 223. Pilliod finished up with a solid 1-over 72
while Montgomery posted consistent rounds of 75, 74 and 74.
Also for the Hawks, Chuck Briggs, a junior from McLean, Va.,
finished tied for 55th at 226 after a final-round 74 and sophomore
Reed Winkler, a Salesianum product, finished tied for 63rd at 228
after also carding a 3-over 74 in the final round.
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