Wary of a weather forecast that didn’t completely pan put,
organizers of this weekend’s Princeton Invitational shortened the event from 54
holes to 36 holes.
While Friday’s opening round at Springdale Golf Club in
Princeton, N.J. was played in pretty much the nicest weather we’ve had in the
Northeast this late winter, Saturday turned downright cold, although the
predicted snow stayed away. Not sure exactly why Sunday’s third round was
called off, but it wouldn’t have been a treat to play on a windy day with temps
that never came close to getting out of the 40s.
None of which seemed to bother Yale, which continued to
establish itself as the favorite when Ivy League Championship time rolls around
with a three-shot victory over a Penn team that seems to be hitting its stride
at just the right time.
The Bulldogs, who trailed the Quakers and fellow first-round
co-leader Cornell by six shots going into Saturday’s final round, ripped off a
3-under-par 281 over the 6,424-yard, par-71 Springdale layout for a 2-over 570
total.
The Quakers, who opened with a 1-under 283, fell back with a
6-over 290, but held on for a solid runnerup finish at 5-over 573. Loyola of
Maryland, which matched par in the opening round with a 284, finished alone in
third at 7-over 575, two shots behind Penn, after a final-round 291.
Cornell fell back in the second round with a 293 after
matching Penn in the opening round with a 1-under 283 and shared fourth with
host Princeton at 8-over 576, a shot behind Loyola. The Tigers opened with a
7-over 291, but closed strong with a 1-over 285.
Temple, in probably its strongest showing since winning the
season-opening Cornell Invitational back in September, matched par in
Saturday’s second round with a 284 to finish sixth at 9-over 577. Reigning Ivy
League champion Harvard was six shots behind the Owls in seventh at 15-over 583
after finishing up with a solid 4-over 288.
Another Philly team, Saint Joseph’s, also matched par in the
final round with a 284 and finished tied for eighth with Seton Hall at 20-over
588 in the 12-team field. It was a 20-shot improvement from an opening-round
304 for the Hawks while the Pirates went the other way, matching par in Friday’s
opening round with a 284 and going 20 more in a final-round 304.
Yale was led by James Nicholas a junior from Scarsdale, N.Y.
who had the best round of the day on a chilly Saturday with a 5-under 66 that
gave him a 5-under 137 total, a shot behind individual champion Mike Graboyes,
the Cornell senior from Wachtung, N.J. who is the reigning Ivy League champion.
Eoin Leonard, a junior from England, backed up Nicholas by
ending up among six players tied for fifth at even-par 142 after adding a
1-over 72 to his opening-round 70.
Will Bernstein, Yale’s senior captain from New York City,
and Sean Yi, a freshman from Auburn, Wash., both landed in the group tied for
23rd at 4-over 146. Bernstein finished strong, carding a 1-under 70
in Saturday’s second round after opening with a 76 while Yi registered his
second straight 73 Saturday.
Rounding out the Yale lineup was Teddy Zinser, a freshman
from Alexandria, Va. who finished tied for 42nd at 7-over 149 after
a final-round 74.
Yale also got a solid showing from Jordan Weitz, a sophomore
from Rockville, Md. who competed as an individual and joined teammate Leonard
in the six-way tie for fifth at even-par 142. Weitz fired a 1-under 70 in the
opening round and added a 1-over 72 Saturday.
Yale has yet to finish behind an Ivy League opponent this
season and will host its Yale Spring Invitational next weekend – when rumor has
it temperatures might soar past 70. In researching this post, I learned the Ivy
League Championship will be staged April 20 to 22 at Stonewall, where I’ve
snagged a few loops the last couple of years.
That would be good news to Graboyes, who earned a ticket to
last summer’s U.S. Amateur out of a qualifier at Stonewall. And it doesn’t
matter on which of Tom Doak’s twin gems the Ivy Championship is staged, the Old
Course or the North Course, because Graboyes shot an even-par 70 on the Old
Course and a 1-under 69 on the North Course.
Graboyes fired an opening round of 5-under 66 to take
control of the individual chase in the Princeton Invitational. A 1-under 70
Saturday enabled him to hold off Nicholas with a 6-under 136 total.
Graboyes won the Ivy individual title by three shots last
spring at The Stanwich Club in Greenwich, Conn. He was invited to compete in
the NCAA Stanford Regional as an individual. So yeah, the guy can play a
little.
Leading the way for Penn was Carter Thompson, a senior from
Tallahassee, Fla. who finished alone in third place at 3-under 139, two shots
behind Nicholas. Thompson, who transferred to Penn from Florida State, opened
with a 3-under 68 before matching par with a 71 in Saturday’s second round.
Thompson played well in that U.S. Amateur qualifier at
Stonewall last summer as well. He shot even-par 140 to get in a 4-for-1 playoff
for the final ticket to the U.S. Amateur, but failed to survive the playoff.
Princeton was led by Evan Quinn, a sophomore from
Morristown, N.J. who finished alone in fourth place at 1-under 141. After
opening with a 1-over 72, Quinn carded a 2-under 69 in Saturday’s final round.
Thompson’s Penn teammate, Zareh Kaloustian, a junior from
Sherman Oaks, Calif., was also part of the six-way logjam at even-par 142 that
included Yale’s Leonard and Weitz. Kaloustian added a 1-over 72 to his
opening-round 70.
Rounding out the sixsome tied for fifth were two Loyola
players, Jeremy Wall (68-74), a junior from Brielle, N.J., and Erick Alonso
(73-69), a junior from Haworth, N.J., and Harvard’s Grant Fairbairn (73-69), a
freshman from Orinda, Calif. Alonso was competing as an individual.
Penn got another strong showing from Josh Goldenberg, a
junior from Scarsdale, N.Y. who had steady rounds of 71 and 72 to finish tied
for 11th at 1-over 143. Also for the Quakers, Brandon Wang, a
freshman from Bradenton, Fla., finished tied for 42nd at 7-over 149
after a final-round 75, and Mitchell Cornell, a freshman from Incline Village,
Nev., finished tied for 50th at 151 after also posting a final-round
75.
Backing up Quinn for host Princeton was Jake Mayer, a
freshman from Scotch Plains, N.J. who finished in the group tied for 16th
at 2-over 144. Mayer opened with a 1-under 70 before finishing up with a 3-over
74.
Senior Michael Davis, the former Malvern Prep standout who
was the runnerup in the 2015 BMW Philadelphia Amateur, finished in a group tied
for 20th at 3-over 145 in his final Princeton Invitational with
steady rounds of 73 and 72. Davis, who plays out of Aronimink Golf Club, will
cap what has been an outstanding career at Princeton at Stonewall in a couple
of weeks. Pretty sure he knows his way around the two Stonewall tracks, too.
Marc Hedrick, a senior from Encinitas, Calif., came on
strong for the Tigers with a final-round 70 that vaulted him into the group
tied for 30th at 5-over 147. Rounding out the Princeton lineup was
Eric Mitchell, a senior from Winston-Salem, N.C. who finished among the group
tied for 53rd at 153 after a final-round 77.
Several Princeton players competed as individuals, led by
Sam Clayman, a freshman from Dallas, Texas who joined his teammate Hedrick in
the group tied for 30th at 147. Clayman had solid rounds of 74 and
73 at Springdale.
Which brings me to Temple. Head coach Brian Quinn has
tinkered with a lot of combinations this season and he ended up with a decent
outcome in the Princeton Invitational.
John Barone, a redshirt junior from Dunmore, and junior Gary
McCabe, a former La Salle High standout from Collegeville, led the way for the
Owls as they both ended up in the group tied for 16th at 2-over 144.
Barone contributed a 1-under 70 to Temple’s solid final-round showing while
McCabe matched par in the opening round with a 71 and added a 73 Saturday.
Senior Mark Farley, a Calvary Christian product from
Penndel, matched par in the second round with a
71 to land in the group tied for 20th at 3-over 145. Freshman
Dawson Anders, a Souderton product and winner of the Golf Association of
Philadelphia’s Junior Boys’ Championship last summer, matched Barone’s 1-under
70 in Saturday’s second round and finished in the group tied for 23rd
at 4-over 146.
Rounding out the Temple lineup was Trey Wren, a junior from
Suffolk, Va. who has been Temple’s most consistent player the last two years.
Wren had a pair of 74s to finish in the group tied for 37th at
6-over 148.
It will be interesting to see which five Quinn takes to the
Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Fla. for The American Championship April 22
to 24 as the Owls try to improve on last year’s ninth-place finish. Wren,
McCabe and Barone were in the lineup at Innisbrook last spring.
Saint Joseph’s was led by freshman Wills Montgomery, a
former Downingtown East standout who added a 1-under 70 to an opening-round 73
to finish in the group tied for 11th at 1-over 143.
Junior Ross Pilliod, a Berks Catholic product (and
occasional Stonewall looper), and Michael O’Brien, a sophomore from West
Chester, Ohio, both landed among the group tied for 23rd at 4-over
146. Pilliod fired a 1-under 70 in Saturday’s second round while O’Brien added
a 1-over 72 to his opening-round 74.
Sophomore Reed Winkler, a Salesianum product, bounced back
from an opening-round 84 with a 1-over 72 to finish among the group tied for 59th
at 156. He was joined at that figure by the final member of the St. Joe’s
lineup, Chuck Briggs, a junior from McLean, Va. who also had a rough opening
round with an 81 before finishing up with a 75.
The Hawks are headed for the Navy Spring Invitational next
weekend before teeing it up in the Atlantic 10 Championship April 27 to 29 in
Orlando, Fla.
I am intrigued that the Ivy Championship will be staged at Stonewall.
Not sure if the whole tournament will be played on one course or if they will
mix and match and a get a round in at one course and two at the other.
The North Course played a little easier in the opening round
of qualifying for the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship, but when the wind
blew on Day 2, the North was almost as tough a test as the Old Course. They are
both great golf courses in their own right.
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